KIRSTEN ADAIR | STAFF REPORTER
Butler University’s Health Services is taking preventative measures to keep everyone on campus healthy this flu season.
The department offers flu clinics, a program designed to give free flu shots to students, faculty, staff and the spouses of faculty and staff.
“Our campus is fully residential and (the flu) is airborne, so we’re pretty vulnerable on our campus,” said Julie Howerton, director of health services.
The program has grown over the past few years due to an increased demand.
Health Services prepared to administer 1,500 flu shots this year, an increase from last year’s supply of 1,100 shots and hopes to receive a larger supply next year.
“We hope that it will continue to grow so we can keep our community healthy,” Howerton said.
Students find the program especially useful. With the school, it can be hard to schedule time to get a flu shot.
Two students who attended the flu clinic Friday said if there had not been clinic, they would have waited to get the flu shots, or they would have gone without them.
“I really like that they offer it, otherwise I wouldn’t get one,” said student Erin West, who attended the clinic on Friday.
Sophomore Molly Ray, who also attended the clinic, said without the clinic, she probably wouldn’t think about getting a flu shot.
Sophomore Calli Jones said she was sick a lot last year and hoped getting her flu shot earlier will keep her healthier.
Howerton said the best preventative measures people can take are washing hands, staying home when sick, getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet and throwing away tissues properly. She said she believes these steps, coupled with a flu shot, is the best way to stay healthy during flu season.
The volunteers at the flu clinic work hard to encourage people not to put off getting the shot.
“We try to give it a little on the early end because it takes your body time to build immunity to it,” said Ryan Medas, a sixth-year pharmacy student and one of the volunteers at the flu clinic. “I would strongly encourage anybody to get it. I’d recommend it for the fact of being safe.”
Sophomore Olivia Cabanban said she thinks that the flu clinic is accommodating. She said she liked the conversations she had with the people working at the clinic, and she appreciated the “cute” Band-Aids.
“They should keep doing this because it’s really awesome,” Cabanban said.
