Students living on campus will no longer be able to seek the help of health aides in their dorms next year. The health aide program will end at the conclusion of Spring Quarter after nearly 30 years of service to residential students and will be replaced by a new program involving NU students in community health-care organizations.
Health Education’s second student involvement program, the Peer Health Educator program, also will end after this year.
After researching the matter since his appointment in 2001, Kenneth Papineau, Northwestern’s director of health education, discovered that Illinois pharmacy and good samaritan laws do not classify health aides as good samaritans — creating a severe liability problem both for health aides and the university.
The lack of good samaritan status means that if a health aide provides medication or treatment that causes harm to a student, he or she can be held personally responsible for the injuries. Health aides are trained and supplied by NU and provide medical advice and supplies to students — tasks they are not licensed to do.
“I am sad to see it go,” said Tom Johnson, Shepard Residential College health aide and Weinberg sophomore. “I am more concerned to see some sort of programming take its place to ensure that dorm residents are well-versed in healthy living.”
Because NU trains the aides, the university assumes liability as well, Papineau said.
Papineau said ending the health aide program will have some positive consequences and benefit students in the long run. Next year, Papineau plans to fill in the gap with a self-care program. Students would be able to access health information online and learn how to treat themselves.
“I view our job as teaching you to prepare for that experience (of leaving college),” Papineau said. “What do you do when you don’t have a (Resident Assistant) available, you don’t have a health aide available, you can’t get a hold of a parent, but yet you don’t feel well. We really are encouraging people to care for themselves.”
The decision to cancel the program came after careful consideration and discussion between the Health Education Office, Vice President of Student Affairs William Banis and the Office of General Counsel, one of NU’s legal advising resources.
Papineau said his department plans to replace the health aide program with a student service learning program that allows students to work with community organizations and learn about medicine.
The new program will still allow students interested in health education to gain hands-on experience. For their first year, volunteers will rotate between different organizations each quarter. Returning students will then be able to spend an entire year with an organization of their choice.
Although no plans have been finalized, Papineau said he is pursuing the American Cancer Society, YMCA and Better Existence with HIV.
“I think it is a really bad idea to get rid of health aides, especially in McCulloch and Bobb, or social dorms in general,” said Javier Gallegos, a McCormick sophomore and McCulloch Hall resident. “People get alcohol poisoning or really sick and need to call someone specialized in situations like those.”
While some students are concerned about the state of residential living next year, others do not feel the change will greatly impact students.
“I am not going to be affected,” said Cynthia Moreno, a Communication sophomore and Communications Residential College resident. “I have never had to go to them for anything. I don’t even know where they are.”
The health aide program was founded in 1975 along with the Health Education Department. It provided students with the opportunity to serve as liaisons between on-campus residents and University Health Services.
This year about 70 health aides were trained in both CPR and First Aide. They attend weekly two-hour meetings that review the cases of the week and breaking health news on campus. Health aides also had the opportunity to listen to speakers on issues including sports injury, psychology, nutrition and other health-related topics. The information was then passed on to residents, said Rena Shah, a Willard Residential College health aide and Weinberg junior.
“It’s a 911 in the dorm,” Shah said. “It wasn’t on every campus. It was unique to Northwestern.”
The Peer Health Educator program — which allows about 30 students to provide special events to educate students on campus about health concerns — also will end after this year. Volunteers last organized a stress relaxation presentation to alert students about stress management. This program will end due to resource restrictions and recent research that has concluded that only half of people actually believe medical advice given to them by peers, Papineau said.
