We have made some recent changes with our pharmacy services. We no longer have a contracted pharmacy on site, as in the past, that could accept prescriptions from Georgia Southern Health Services (GSHS) providers as well as outside providers. This is being done to help keep the rising cost of pharmaceuticals down for students without health insurance pharmacy coverage, as well as providing a cost effective alternative to students dealing with significant increases in their health insurance pharmacy coverage co-pays .  

Effective during the 2008 Fall Semester, Health Services implemented an on-site Pharmacy Dispensing Service.  This Service is managed by our previous full-time Pharmacist, Mr. Tommy Wilbanks.  Pharmacist Wilbanks and his staff are able to dispense pre-filled prescriptions written only by GSHS providers.  Hours of operation will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. , Monday – Friday when Health Services is open.  Information on Pharmacist  Wilbanks is provided below.

Mr. Wilbanks is a well-trained, experienced registered pharmacist responsible for overseeing the Health Services on-site Pharmacy Dispensing Service,  He received his BS in Biology from Georgia Southern University in 1971 and his BS in Pharmacy from the University of Georgia in 1973. In addition to more than 7 years experience overseeing the Health Services pharmacy, Mr. Wilbanks has more than 20 years of experience as a Pharmacist in retail and hospital pharmacies.

We will not be billing 3rd party health insurance pharmacy plans, but will be able to recognize and bill the University System of Georgia Student Health Insurance Program (USG SHIP) administered by Pearce & Pearce for medications dispensed.   For those students with 3rd party health insurance (e.g., parental insurance plan coverage) this may affect you if you have a brand-name prescription vs. a generic one.  We will carry a wide variety of medications, and the generics have been priced to be very competitive with our off-campus pharmacies.  A current list of those medications with pricing can be accessed at the following link: 

Health Services List of Carried Medications

1)  Remember, we don’t have the ability to file insurance except for the University System of Georgia Student Health Insurance Program.  However, most medications are priced at $5 to $15, with many less than $5.  This means we should be able to dispense the majority of the medications required at the GSHS Pharmacy Dispensing Service at a price that will be at or below the standard co-pay required by your health insurance pharmacy plan. For USG SHIP covered students there is no co-pay for medications dispensed at the Health Services on-site Dispensing Service.
 
2)  Medications must be paid for at the time they are dispensed, but in addition to cash and check payment we accept MasterCard, Visa, or Eagle Express.
 
3)  Most antibiotic, decongestant, and analgesic medications for colds, infections, congestion, and pain are priced very reasonably.  Brand name medications will be much higher, therefore we will work with you to have these prescriptions filled at one of the off-campus pharmacies we work closely with, including several that delivery to the campus.
 
4)  If you wish to fill a prescription from an off-campus physician, you must first be seen and evaluated by a Health Services provider --- a prescription will then be issued by the Health Services provider to be dispensed at the Pharmacy Dispensing Service.  No narcotics can be filled or re-filled from outside physicians at the Dispensing Service unless deemed medically appropriate by a Health Services provider. 

Many students need regular injections for allergies and other immunization/vaccination . Health Services will provide allergy injections to currently enrolled students and there is no additional charge for this service; the student health fee covers it. Georgia Southern faculty and staff may receive allergy injections at Health Services after payment of a semester fee for this particular service.

A s a patient of the Allergy and Immunization Injection Office, you have the responsibility to be knowledgeable about and to follow the guidelines we have established for that office. Students, faculty, and staff are required to abide by these guidelines and failure to do so will result in termination of allergy injection services provided by Health Services. Please remember, these guidelines are for your protection!

Allergy serum, prescribed by an allergy specialist and provided by the patient, will be kept at Health Services. The patient should bring in the serum. Serum should not be shipped to Health Services. The student is responsible for re-ordering serum as needed. The nurse will alert the patient when new serum is needed. The patient is responsible for picking up serum at the end of each semester. Health Services will not assume responsibility for serum left during semester breaks or for damages to serum resulting from refrigeration failure. Due to limited storage space, the patient is only allowed to store one set of allergy serum at Health Services at a time.

A physician's order and written instructions must accompany the serum. No allergy injections will be administered without proper orders and instructions. The nurse will contact the allergy specialist if there are any questions concerning the serum, the orders/instructions, or patient compliance.

All serum vials must be properly labeled with the patient's legal name, the serum name, strength of the allergy extract, expiration and/or mixed date. (Example: tree/grass 1:1000 exp 1/2009). Improperly labeled serum will not be kept at Health Services and will not be administered to the student.

After every allergy injection, the patient must remain in the allergy clinic waiting area for at least 20 minutes. If the patient receives a venom injection, the patient must remain for at least 30 minutes after the injection.

The patient must be examined by the nurse and must sign the Allergy Treatment Record prior to leaving the allergy clinic.

Allergy Injection and Immunization/Vaccination Office hours for regular allergy injection services as well as other immunization/vaccination services area as follows;

Allergy Hours:  Monday – Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Appointment/Injection Hours: Monday – Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

TB/PPD Hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A Health Services physician must be on duty in the building whenever any allergy injection is given. If a physician is not present in the building, allergy injections will not be given. If the physician(s) will be unavailable on a given date, that information will be posted in advance for our patients in the allergy clinic.

Students must be currently enrolled and have paid a student health fee in order to receive allergy injections at Health Services.

It is the patient's responsibility to pick up any unused or expired serum. The expiration dates on all serum kept at Health Services will be checked periodically and expired serum will be destroyed. This will be documented by the nurse and shared with the patient. Any serum that has only a mixed date will be destroyed one year after the mixed date unless otherwise noted by the allergy specialist. If there is both a mixed date and an expiration date on the vial, the expiration date will be the determining factor for discarding the serum.

For More Information

Please call the Allergy Injection Office at 912-478-7782, or the Appointment Office at 912-478-5484.

Health Services provides a Women's Health Office that is staffed by caring and qualified nurse practitioners and nurses. Women's Health services include annual exams, Pap smears, contraceptive management, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing, sexually transmitted disease [STD] testing, and other gynecological concerns. Patients are seen primarily by appointment and are encouraged to make appointments for annual examinations at least two weeks in advance. Call 912-478-5484 for an appointment or more information.

All female students requesting an appointment for a women's exam are required to make a pre-exam appointment where information on the pelvic exam, breast health, sexually transmitted infections and birth control is provided, patient information is taken, and pre-exam lab work is drawn.  This pre-exam appointment facilitates the women’s health exam process and provides more provider-patient time during their exam for personal interaction.

Women's Health services including Colposcopy Services.  Colposcopy is the procedure used to diagnose lesions of the cervix detected by pap smear. Katie Driver, FNP an ASCCP (American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology) trained colposcopist will be on site regularly to hold colposcopy clinic for our female students with abnormal pap smears.

Ms. Driver is a Nurse Practitioner with over six years of gynecologic experience. She received her BS in nursing in 1996 from the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA and completed her NP training and certification in 1999 also from the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA. Mrs. Driver was trained in colposcopy in 2001 by the ASCCP (American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology). Her work experience includes private gynecologic practice in Athens, GA with Women's Healthcare Specialists, and private gynecologic practice in Atlanta, GA with Premier Care for Women.  In addition to her work at GSUHS, Ms. Driver is currently working as a nurse practitioner in the Family Health Clinic of the Richmond County Health Department in Augusta, GA.

This service will dramatically increase the access to care for our female population with abnormal pap smears. Referral to this service will be made by your health services provider if needed based on your pap result.

Health Services provides Men’s Health services provided by Chief of Medical Staff Dr. Brian DeLoach.  Dr. DeLoach has significant experience in dealing with male health issues. Men can be seen by appointment or on a walk-in basis. 
These confidential services are designed to meet the special needs of men including their sexual and genitourianry health concerns. Call 912-478-5484 for an appointment or more information.  Information on Dr. DeLoach is provided below.

Dr. DeLoach is a well trained, experienced, board certified Family Practice Physician with significant private group practice and hospital practice experience. Before joining the Health Services staff Dr. DeLoach practiced as a Staff Physician for five years in the Bohler Family Practice in nearby Brooklet, GA. His experience includes serving as the Chairman of the Family Practice Department at East Georgia Regional Medical Center (EGRMC). Dr. DeLoach received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Georgia and his Doctorate of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia.

Health Services provides a moderate complexity CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act) approved on-site medical laboratory to provide timely, accurate laboratory procedures in support of clinical evaluation and diagnosis.  The Health Services Medical Laboratory is managed by a well trained, experience Medical Technologist Rhonda Castro.  Procedures performed by the Health Service Medical Laboratory include Hematology (CBC, Diff, Sed Rate), Chemistry (glucose), Serology (H.pylori, Influenza, Mono, Strep ID), Urinalysis (UA-dipstick, UA-microscopic, Pregnanacy), and Microbiology (KOH, Saline); as well as venipuncture specimen collection .  Health Service utilizes LabCorp as its reference medical laboratory for procedures that cannot be performed by our Medical Lab.     
Information on Medical Technologist Rhonda Castro is provided below.

Ms. Castro is a well-trained, fully certified Medical Technologist with more than 15 years of experience, including supervision and training of technicians and phlebotomists and overseeing the Clinical Laboratory Inspection Act (CLIA) compliance process. She received her BS in Medical Technology from Georgia Southern University in 1990 and completed her Certification in Medical Technology from Armstrong State College, Savannah, GA in 1991. Her experience includes work as a Medical Technologist at the Scott & White Hospital, Temple, TX, the Bulloch Memorial Hospital, Statesboro, and the East Georgia Regional Medical Center, Statesboro, GA.

Health Services provides on-site Radiology Services utilizing a “state of the art” digital radiology system.  The system includes a Quantum Quest QG-500 x-ray generator, generator control unit, and x-ray table and a Konica-Minolta digital developer and PACS transmission unit.  Chatham/St. Joseph-Chandler Hospital Radiology Group, Savannah, GA, serves as the Health Services Radiologist , including ability to provide same day radiologyl reports because of our mutual digital transmission capability.

Health Services provides on-site Respiratory Therapy services performed by a well trained, experienced Respiratory Therapist Gail McCoy.   A full range of pulmonary diagnostic tests and breathing treatments are provided including:  MSPeakFlow; RAerosol; BBasicPealFlow; RDemEvauation; Exercise Induced Asthma Test; RO2Sat; PPeakFlow.

Health Services provides consultation and vaccination recommendations for those students preparing for international travel. Call 912-478-5484 for an appointment or more information.

Health Services collaborates with the GSU Counseling and Career Development Center (CCDC) to address mental health needs of students. The well trained and experienced CCDC Staff included University Psychiatrist Gary Noble, MD, Counseling Center Director Dr. David Matthews, and a staff of PHD level Counseling Psychologists.  The CCDC offers individual assistance for personal difficulties such as self-esteem, depression, sexual identity, relationship conflicts, eating disorders, growing up in a dysfunctional family, attention deficit disorder (ADD), as well as group counseling.

The Counseling Center is located next to the Health Center at the corner of Forest Drive and Cedarwood Drive. Call 912-478-5541 for an appointment.  Additional information can be obtained at the Counseling Center website: http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/counseling/

Health Services cooperates with the GSU Student Disability Resource Center [SDRC] to address special medical needs of disabled students. The SDRC provides assistance for obtaining documentation of disabling conditions and arranges for academic accommodations based on individual needs. The SDRC can be contacted at 912-478-5259.  Information is also available on the SDRC website:  http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/disability/