Megan Pabian Archives | �鶹ԭ�� News

Pick Up Cigarette Butts, Chance to Win Cash

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:25:30 +0000

Students will have the opportunity Thursday, Feb. 13, to show their support for �鶹ԭ��’s smoke-free campus initiative by collecting cigarette trash around the main campus – and have a chance to win cash. This will be the second time the Student Health Advisory Committee has hosted the Butt Clean Up Day event.

“Last year, with the policy being so new, it made perfect sense to host the event while everyone was still adjusting to the smoke-free campus,” said David DeWitt, president of SHAC. “But we wanted to do it again this year because we feel it still needs to be prominent and visible to everyone at �鶹ԭ�� that this is a smoke-free campus.”

The four students collecting the most cigarette trash will be awarded $50 gift cards to Barnes & Noble. To participate, students should check in at the smoke-free tent on the Student Union patio after 10 a.m. to register and pick up supplies, and return the trash by 5 p.m. The trash will be recorded by volume and disposed of by Environmental Health and Safety. All participants will be given �鶹ԭ�� smoke-free T-shirts, and the winners will be notified the next day for prize pickup.

The voluntary smoke-free initiative, which went into effect August 2012, was put in place to encourage a more-healthy lifestyle. Since �鶹ԭ�� went smoke-free, Valencia College, Florida State University and Seminole State College also have joined the more than 1,182 universities and colleges in the nation with smoke-free or tobacco-free policies in place. When �鶹ԭ�� made the change, all ash trays on campus were removed.

Volunteers last year collected about 32 gallon bags of cigarette trash.

For more information, contact Megan Pabian, coordinator of university relations in Health Services, megan.pabian@ucf.edu.

Face the Music – and Get Your Flu Shot

Thu, 14 Nov 2013 21:00:26 +0000

So having people tell you to get a flu shot just hasn’t motivated you? How about if they sing it to you?

Swing by the Reflecting Pond on Friday, Nov. 15, and hear some swinging tunes from �鶹ԭ��’s Crescendudes a cappella group that has teamed up with �鶹ԭ�� Health Services to spread the word to students about vaccinations and other healthy behaviors.

The group has remixed some popular song lyrics to promote the benefits of the shots and encourage listeners to head over to Health Services – like most members of the group did recently for their shots, said Crescendudes president Zach Anderson.

One of the songs, for example, is the popular “Stand By Me,” only in this version the group sings “If you’re sick, ��ǲ�’t stand by me,” said Anderson.

The singers will perform sets of their regular songs at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in front of the Mathematical Sciences Building, and three songs promoting flu shots and healthy habits at 12:30 p.m. Other performances will be on select Fridays around campus through flu season.

Health Services plans to shoot a video of the live performance to be available to show elsewhere, said Megan Pabian, coordinator of university relations and public affairs for �鶹ԭ�� Health Services.

Free flu shots for students are available at the Health Center while supplies last. Check for walk-in clinic dates and times. Faculty and staff can make flu shot appointments at the Health Center by calling 407-823-3850 and either pay $20 or charge it to their health insurance.

Medical Professionals Share Career Advice With Students

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:05:19 +0000

Health care providers at the �鶹ԭ�� Health Center flipped the script Jan. 31 and let the students ask all the questions as a variety of professionals attended the “Ask a Doc – Careers in Health Care” event.

“While we’re not educators per say, we definitely fit that role in more ways than one at the Health Center,” said Megan Pabian, coordinator of the center’s community relations and public affairs. “Not only are we educating students about their own health, but we recognize the responsibility we have as medical professionals on a college campus to provide career mentoring.”

The event is held at the beginning of each fall and spring semester and allows students to attain first-hand knowledge about medical professions. This year the panel included doctors, a physician assistant, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, a registered nurse, a dietitian, a physical therapist, a pharmacist, a dentist and a dental hygienist.

“We have such a variety of professions represented in these four walls,” Pabian said. “It’s great to show students how many career options are out there and how we all work in support of one another with the same common goal – make our students healthier.”

The event is supported by the Office of Pre-Professional Advising and includes experts who can address graduate-school options, and admission expectations for the various fields.

“I found the event super helpful,” said Long Nguyen, a health sciences pre-clinical major . “I was able to get great advice from a dentist on how to further expose myself to dentistry, and many other things that can enrich and strengthen my dental-school application”.

�鶹ԭ�� to Collect, Dispose of Potentially Dangerous Expired Drugs

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:28:37 +0000

Expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs may be dangerous to ingest and could contaminate water supplies if they’re discarded down a drain or in the garbage. They also have become the most abused substances after marijuana and alcohol, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

To properly dispose of potentially harmful unused and unwanted drugs, the �鶹ԭ�� will sponsor a drop-off site Thursday, Sept. 27, in the John T. Washington Center Breezeway.

�鶹ԭ�� Health Services and the Police Department will accept the medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from anyone at �鶹ԭ�� and the community. The service is anonymous, so no questions will be asked, organizers said.

About 35 pounds of medicines – such as Adderall, Ritalin, antibiotics, Tylenol, vitamins, cough syrup and others – were dropped off last October when �鶹ԭ�� held its first drug take-back day, said Megan Pabian, Health Services’ coordinator of university relations and public affairs. Some people even brought in expired medications for pets.

“It’s a good thing to get into the practice of cleaning out your medicine cabinet once a year,” Pabian said, adding that people last year brought in shoeboxes and bags full of medicines. “We had medicines dropped off that expired in the ’80s. You really ��ǲ�’t want that stuff in your house.” If any medications are dropped off with labels, they are either removed or blacked out, she said.

The drug take-back day is overseen by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which last year accepted 276 tons of expired medications at drop-off sites around the country. In the four years the DEA has conducted the program, 775 tons of drugs have been collected.

The DEA shreds and then incinerates the medications to keep them out of water supplies and landfills.

Pabian said the program also addresses a vital public safety and public health issue: prescription-drug abuse. Medicines that are needlessly kept in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, she said. Each year there are reported accidental poisonings and overdoses due to improperly stored drugs.

There is a common misconception that over-the-counter drugs are safer than illegal drugs, but that’s only true when they are taken as prescribed and for the purpose intended, Pabian said.

Studies also show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends.

For additional information about the program, contact Pabian at 407-823-2643.

Health Services to Host Career Day

Megan Pabian — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:53:01 +0000

This became apparent to Health Services with the almost daily requests from students to shadow a healthcare provider. When the requests started to mount, Health Services realized they could help students by hosting a career day. They dubbed it “Bagels and Lox with Docs,” and the tradition started last spring.

This fall’s event will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, in the Health Center’s second-floor conference room.

“Due to privacy laws, we can’t have students shadowing our doctors and other medical providers,” said Megan Pabian, coordinator of University Relations and Public Affairs for Health Services. “But what we can do is host our own version of a career day where students can learn a little about the different professions and ask their questions to a variety of health care professionals.”

The event, held at the beginning of each fall and spring semester, allows students to get first-hand knowledge about a wide range of professions. This year the panel includes a doctor, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse practitioner, registered nurse, dietitian, physical therapist, pharmacist, dentist and dental hygienist.

“Having a variety of different professions allows students to weigh their options,” Pabian said. “So often students want to know the difference between a physician and a physician assistant, or what makes them different from a registered nurse practitioner.”

The event is supported by the Office of Pre-Professional Advising and includes experts who can address graduate school options and admissions expectations for the various fields.

“I attended last year, and my favorite part of the event was being able to ask questions one-on-one with the health professionals that attended and hear their experienced advice,” said Brittany Johnson, a health sciences pre-clinical major. “It isn’t every day that students are able to interact with health professionals and ask them for their insight on questions that we have. This really helped me.”

Flu Shots Available at Health Center

Lindsey Showalter — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:59:43 +0000

As flu season approaches, �鶹ԭ�� Health Services encourages students and staff and faculty members to receive the vaccination and build immunity before the height of the season in February.

The shot – which protects against both seasonal and H1N1 flu strains—is $10 for students and $20 for faculty and staff. Appointments are required to receive the shot and can be made by calling 407-823-3850.

Getting a flu shot is considered one of the most effective ways to prevent the illness and protect others from it.

“With such a large campus population, your chances of being exposed to the flu are very high,” explained Megan Pabian, coordinator of University Relations and Public Affairs for Health Services.

“Should you catch the flu, most people need one to two weeks to fully recover. That’s time out of class and work that you can’t afford,” she said.

Other ways to stay healthy include covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze; washing hands thoroughly and frequently throughout the day with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing; using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water is not accessible; not touching your eyes, nose and mouth; and avoiding close contact with sick people.

For more information on �鶹ԭ�� Health Services, visit .

Dispose of Expired, Unwanted Meds at Drug Take Back Day

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:59:23 +0000

Prescription and over-the-counter medications can be dropped off with no questions asked from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday near Chick-fil-A in the John. T. Washington Breezeway on campus. The event is open to the public.

Hosted by �鶹ԭ�� Health Services and the �鶹ԭ�� Police Department, the event is part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) third National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day raises awareness about prescription drug abuse and what can be done to alleviate it. This is a large public health issue that affects thousands of teenagers each day, and most of the teens obtain the drugs through a family member’s or friend’s medicine cabinet.

The DEA holds these events bi-annually, and last year 116 tons of medications were collected.

“The majority of people ��ǲ�’t know the safe way to dispose of unwanted medicine,” said Megan Pabian, coordinator of University Relations and Public Affairs for Health Services. “Thanks to this national program, �鶹ԭ�� can host an event that assures drugs will be disposed of properly and people won’t have to guess if they are doing the right thing.”

While the main purpose of the event is to collect expired and unwanted medications, �鶹ԭ�� Health Services and the Police Department also are hoping to educate the public on the issues surrounding improper drug disposal.

Many people believe the best and safest way to dispose of old prescriptions is to flush them down the toilet. But that can harm the environment, including a community’s water supply.

“People think nothing bad will happen if they pour medicine down a sink or flush it in the toilet, because there are no immediate effects of these actions,” said Brenda Walker, a �鶹ԭ�� pharmacist. “The water that supplies homes could become contaminated in the long run and effect generations to come. This is why it is so important to educate students about how to safely dispose of drugs.”

At the event, educational flyers will be handed out with information about how to safely throw drugs away when a drug take back event is not available. Flyers also will mention the few drugs that are recommended to be flushed.

This is the first time �鶹ԭ�� has participated in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Several other drug take back events in Central Florida will be held Saturday, Oct. 29.

For more information, contact Megan Pabian at megan.pabian@ucf.edu or 407-823-2643.