Students who have been on campus during a busy day or have participated in programs hosted by the health and wellness team may recognize the blue and orange octagonal informational tent that pops up in a variety of locations—commonly known as the Health Hub. Now with the power of a golf cart and fueled by the Barnes Center at The Arch peer educators, there is a mobile version!
Rolling out its campus debut, the Mobile Health Hub will be available starting Monday, Feb. 10. Students will now have the opportunity to access health and wellness resources on the go. The Mobile Health Hub is different from the traditional, stationary Health Hub as it brings wellness activities to students, while also bringing them closer to their next destination. The Mobile Health Hub will be navigating different on-campus routes each shift and will have prizes available for participants who ride. Additionally, the Mobile Health Hub will count toward the Loyalty Program, where 10 visits to either the mobile or stationary Health Hubs will win students a free water bottle.
“I’m so excited that we have the Mobile Health Hub now. We now have the opportunity to increase cross-campus health and wellness education specific to Syracuse University,” says Sierra St. Louis ’21, a member of the Peer Educators Encouraging Healthy Relationships and Sexuality team at the Barnes Center at The Arch. “I foresee it becoming another unique facet of our community, something that students look forward to.”
The idea came about when Bianca Newton, alcohol and other drug prevention health promotion specialist at the Barnes Center at The Arch, attended a National Association of Student Personnel Administrators strategies conference and discovered a similar program offered at a peer university. With an attention-grabbing vehicle, the ability to win prizes and learn health and wellness information tailored to our campus community, Newton organized efforts to place the program into motion.
A team of Barnes Center at The Arch peer educators emphasized the importance of the addition of a mobile element to their health and wellness efforts sharing, “There are a lot of people who have misinformation and misconceptions about health and wellness, which can get in the way of their academic success. We feel mobile outreach unites student-to-student education while eliminating some of the barriers of receiving information.”
For more information or to find out how to Be Involved with the Barnes Center at The Arch health and wellness team, please visit the Barnes Center at The Arch website or call 315.443.8000.
Story by Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience communications intern Abigail J. Covington ’19, G’20
