Health Services
Post Office Box 8043
Statesboro, Georgia 30460-8043
Telephone: (912) 478-5641
Fax: (912) 478-1893
http://services.georgiasouthern.edu/health

Dear International Student:

Your health, and the health of all our students, is important to us. Therefore, Georgia Southern University Health Services has established several requirements to protect the health or all our students.

Enclosed with this letter is a Certificate of Immunization, which must be completed by you and you physician. The certificate must be completed IN ENGLISH and submitted to Health Services for evaluation before you will be allowed to register for classes. If the certificate is not submitted, or does not meet the immunization requirements, you will be required to complete your vaccinations on campus. Health Services provides, for a fee, a limited selection of vaccinations for Georgia Southern students.

In addition to standard immunization requirements, the State of Georgia requires that all students living in university managed on-campus housing be immunized for bacterial Meningococcal meningitis, or sign a waiver stating they do not want to be immunized. If you will be living in a Residence Hall while attending Georgia Southern University, you should be aware that the Georgia Southern University Housing Application now includes meningococcal disease information and a waiver form. It is not necessary for students who reside in University managed on-campus housing to obtain a waiver form from Health Services. Students may attach documentation of meningitis vaccination dates to the Certificate of Immunization, but that information is not required for admission. Health Services recommends that all students be vaccinated against meningococcal disease. This immunization is available through Health Services for a fee, which is payable at the time of service and the fee is subject to change. Bacterial meningitis is a dangerous disease requiring early and aggressive treatment to prevent debilitating and potentially fatal outcome.

Also, based on recommendations from the American College Health Association (ACHA), the University has implemented a policy that requires students who are non-U.S. Citizens to be tested for Tuberculosis (TB) within 1 month of the student's arrival on campus. TB is a potentially fatal disease that is spread from person to person through the air in tiny droplets when an infected person coughs. TB testing must be conducted at Health Services even if you were previously tested. There is no fee for the initial TB screening, which involves a simple skin test to determine if you have had contact with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. If the skin test is positive, additional testing will be required. You may call Health Services at 912-478-5484 to schedule an appointment for TB testing.

All new students are required by Health Services to enroll in our MedBuddy-U program, which is a secure web-based communication program that allows our staff to communicate with you via a confidential and secure system. You may access MedBuddy-U from Health Services Web site or by visiting the web address found directly below.

http://services.georgiasouthern.edu/aux/health/medbuddy-u/

First time users will need to register and set up their user account and password. Once registered, you may use the MedBuddy-U system to request an appointment, ask the nurse a question, request a prescription refill, enter an easy-visit consultation, and access the other services offered via MedBuddy-U.

The Health Center is located on Forest Drive across from Watson hall and near Lakeside Cafe and the Center for International Studies. Call us, or refer to our Website at http://services.georgiasouthern.edu/health/, for additional information about our many services. For information about the mandatory student health insurance for international students, please refer to Pearce and Pearce's Georgia Southern University Web Site. We sincerely hope that attending Georgia Southern University will be a healthy and rewarding experience for you.

Sincerely,
Brian M. Deloach, M.D.
Chief of Staff