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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus To Introduce New Service to Support Student Success and Mental Health
The campus is the first to adopt the YOU at College well-being platform for health professional students.
DENVER, September 9, 2019 – The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is joining more than three dozen colleges by adopting the YOU at College well-being platform, becoming the first medical campus to embrace the solution’s proactive, upstream approach to student well-being and mental health.
“The years spent in medical and other health science professional schools can be an extremely stressful time with intense emotional, physical and mental pressures,” said Nicky Lowry, MS CHES, manager of student health promotion at CU Anschutz. “These programs and occupations are high pressure in nature and the competitive environment can discourage students from acknowledging issues. The best way to help is to intercede before concerns take root. The YOU at College platform is the perfect tool to reach students.”
Developed through a public-private partnership, YOU at College is a comprehensive well-being web solution that promotes student health and success. The platform is customized for campus partners and personalized to the specific needs of students. YOU at College has developed content that specifically supports students in health professions and has been working with CU Anschutz’ Healthy Campus Steering Committee to ensure the platform represents the campus student experience.
“The value of all health science students on our campus being able to connect with information and services confidentially and on their own terms cannot be overstated,” said Jan Gascoigne, PhD, MCHES, assistant vice chancellor of student services for CU Anschutz. “The unique challenges our students face, combined with the very physical and mental demands of caring for patients, makes early intervention extremely beneficial. We’re excited to see how our students engage with the platform and how it helps improve our students’ experience and success.”
A 2016 review published by the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that 27 percent of medical students live with depression or depressive symptoms. In addition, a 2015 survey of 1,122 medical students showed that nearly 15 percent of students surveyed had considered taking their own life at some point during their school career. These numbers are consistent with undergraduate trends, which indicate that death by suicide is the third leading cause of death on college campuses.
“Colleges across the nation are seeing a significant increase in the mental health concerns of students, and health sciences students are certainly not exempt,” said Nathaan Demers, Psy.D., VP and director of clinical programs at YOU at College. “The leadership at CU Anschutz clearly understands the pressures students face and is taking measures to address the issue directly. By adopting an upstream approach, the University of Colorado intends to support students before a crisis develops, leading to improved well-being and subsequent academic success.”
When the CU Anschutz platform launches this fall, the school will join 30 other colleges across the nation engaging students through the YOU well-being model. Surveys of students using the platform show that 98 percent of first-year users learned a new skill or resource to help them succeed. In addition, 76 percent of students reported improved stress management and 87 percent reported learning of campus resources they had previously not utilized. Additional schools that recently adopted the platform include:
- Saint Mary’s College
- Maine College of Health Professions
- East Carolina University
- Martin Methodist College
- Hawaii Pacific University
- University of Vermont
- Colorado School of Mines
- University of Colorado Denver
- Norco College
About YOU at College
YOU at College is a student-centric digital platform that connects students to the right resources at the right time to address the well-being challenges facing every campus. YOU helps students design their ultimate college experience by comprehensively addressing academics, physical and mental health and campus connections.
YOU at College was developed by Grit Digital Health, LLC in partnership with Colorado State University. For more information, visit youatcollege.com.
About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education, and healthcare. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked hospitals that treat more than 2 million adult and pediatric patients each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, together we deliver life-changing treatments, patient care, professional training, and conduct world-renowned research powered by more than $500 million in research awards. For more information,
