Christiana Care partners with Delaware College of Art & Design on student health education

The Department of Family & Community Medicine at Christiana Care Health System brings important lessons on health to students at the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD) in Wilmington.

Through this partnership, which began in 2016, Christiana Care’s Community Health staff offer presentations for students on topics including maintaining healthy relationships in college, mental health, sexual health and stress relief. In addition to healthy living, the Christiana Care team shares an overview of local health resources and information on how to navigate health insurance and financial assistance.

“We are able to address concerns that are important to students and help them make connections to local health services,” said Carla Aponte, MS, program manager for Community Health at Christiana Care. “Many of them are on their own for the first time, and we help them take steps toward staying in good health.”

DCAD’s partnership with Christiana Care gives the college the opportunity to offer health education and information on access to health care. As a school with a student body of about 200 people, DCAD does not have its own student health service.

“This is a great resource for our students,” said Erika Aust, assistant director of Student Services at DCAD. “They really appreciate having health and wellness presentations and conversations with experts right on campus.”

Sessions at new student orientation and through the fall semester have been led by members of Christiana Care’s Health Ambassador program, Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and the Camp FRESH youth program.

“The students are really receptive,” said Delsy Morales, a Christiana Care community educator. “Taking care of yourself is a very important lesson. We are able to educate students about this and connect them to resources that may serve them throughout their lives.”