6A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2002
Bacterial meningitis not often fatal
By Justin Henning Kanson staff writer
Less than one percent of all college students will contract meningitis and fewer will die from it. Yet there are students and parents still concerned about the disease.
"My mom called me last week out of the air and said I should go get tested for it after she saw something about meningitis on television," Derrick Opitz, New Berlin, Wise, sophomore said.
But one glaring fact gets overlooked about the disease.
"Meningitis is rare," Randall Rock, staff physician at Watkins Health Center said. "Students are at no greater risk than their peers in the community."
In fact, a person is four times more likely to die in a car accident, according to the National Safety Council.
Of the nation's 15 million college students, approximately 300 will be diagnosed with bacterial meningitis each year. Of those 300 only about 50 will die from the disease, while the rest could have a full recovery or come away with serious after-effects of the disease.
Meningitis infects the fluid in a person's spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain, according to the Center for Disease Control's Web site. Common symptoms of the disease are fever, headache and a stiff neck. While these are symptoms similar in nature to the flu or a head cold, meningitis takes only eight to 10 hours to progress through the body.
"It's just one of those things that pop up and we have no idea why," said Kim Ens, Disease Control Program Coordinator for Douglas County.
Just as a seat belt helps in a car accident, there are ways to help prevent meningitis. Rock said good personal habits such as keeping a regular sleep pattern, eating a balanced diet, not smoking and limiting second-hand smoke were good ways to keep a body healthy.
"We tell people that you can develop jet lag without leaving Douglas County." Rock said. "The body likes predictability."
Since the disease is transmitted though fluid secretions from the body, not sharing personal items such as utensils, toothbrushes.
food, drinks and cigarettes was also a good way to prevent its spread.
"Any way not to share the secretions in the nose and throat is a good idea," Ens said.
For students who still want more to combat meningitis, Watkins also offers a vaccine for $70, which lasts for about three to five years. Because of the high cost, some insurance plans offer coverage. While it is one of the required vaccines on the health form students fill out before coming to college, it is generally an option students pursue after getting a concerned phone call from their parents.
In the last two years, there have been two diagnosed cases of meningitis at the University of Kansas. A 4-year-old boy who attended child care at the Dole Human Development Center died from the disease in the fall semester of 2000. Last semester, an associate professor of teaching and leadership was diagnosed, treated and recovered completely.
Obitz said he would probably not get tested, despite his mom's concerned call.
"My mom's crazy, she does this
Facts about meningitis
Less than one percent of all college students will contract meningitis
Of the approximately 300 college cases diagnosed every year, it will result in approximately 30 deaths
Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, stiff neck and nausea
It takes only eight to 10 hours to spread through the body
It is an infection of the fluid in a person's spine and around the brain
The disease is only transmitted through bodily fluids and secretions
Watkins Health Center offers a meningitis vaccine for $70, covered by some insurance policies
all the time." he said. "It's just not something I worry about usually."
For questions about the vaccine, students can call Watkins at 864-9500.
Contact Henning at jhenning@kansan.com. This story was edited by Lauren Beatty.
Alpha Delta Pi new member. "The show was kind of turning me off. I was glad that recruitment broke those stereotypes for me."
chapters because they lived together, and the sorority system was a mentoring system designed to introduce the younger women to university life and available options.
Kara Warner, Alpha Chi Omega president, said Sorority Life had failed to show the contributions sororities made to their universities and communities. She said a camaraderie existed between the women in
"My biggest beef is it just showed girls living together; there is so much more to sororities, things that give us reasons to be so proud of the organizations to which we belong," Warner, Ft. Collins, Colo., senior, said.
Warner also said the show didn't show an emphasis on
Sorority CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
academics—Sigma has led the sorority system at UC Davis in grade point average for the last two and a half years.
Sorority Life showed how relationships between the women can bring a chapter together, but it failed to portray other positive aspects, said Barbara Berry, Panhellenic Association vice president for public relations.
"Iif the cameras had showed every last detail, such as the leadership, scholarship, and
"My biggest beef is it just showed girls living together..."
Kara Warner Alpha Chi Omega president
community service, then I would say it would be more comparable to KU's sorority system," she said.
Contact Rapp at trapp @kansan.com. This story was edited by Amanda Sears.
Nursing CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
Although Kansas is facing a statewide nursing shortage of 7 percent, said Karen Miller, dean of nursing and member of the National Advisory Council for the Division of Nursing, the state's shortage pailed in comparison to the nationwide average. She said Kansas's lower figures could be attributed to the state's larger amount of nursing schools per capita and lower population than most other states.
"They're very good workers in lots of places besides the hospital," she said. "This dilutes the potential pool of nurses that are hospital-based."
Another reason for the shortage stems from job opportunities outside hospitals. Clifford said registered nurses could work in case management, home health care, pharmaceutical companies and information management systems as well.
tion will increase the demand for hospital services at the same time many of the nurses begin retiring.
"The lack of staffing would be directly related to the negative outcome of patients." Clifford said.
University School of Nursing kept its nurse retention rate high.
Robert Rosseter, director of public affairs for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, said rural and urban areas had more acute problems with nurse vacancies than suburban areas.
Hospitals in this area are not as pressed for staff as the rest of the state. Deborah Thompson, vice president for human resources at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, said competitive wages and good relationships with the KU's nursing school and the Washburn
"We have an 8 percent rate, but ideally it would be zero." Fletchall said.
Loretta Fletchall, director of human resources at Hutchinson Hospital, quoted a similar vacancy rate to that of Lawrence Memorial Hospital, but she said the numbers were nothing to be optimistic about.
"We have been very,very fortunate," Thompson said.
To fill the gap, Hutchinson Hospital has been using "traveling nurses," or nomadic employees from around the country who come for 13-week stays to fulfill a specialty area.
She said Lawrence Memorial Hospital's turnover rate hovered around 8 percent, while the national average was 19 percent.
Fletchall attributed part of the shortage to the growing popularity of private health care practices.
A recent KU nursing graduate said the shortage allowed her to score a position as a registered nurse immediately after graduation. Stacy Clark signed on at Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo., after finishing her practicum there during the spring semester.
"Nobody I know had a problem finding a job," Clark suid. "
Clark said she could have found a position at the Med Center hospital just as easily. She said the Med Center was scouring the student scene, offering tuition reimbursement for the last semester in school if the student would commit to a contract.
Contact Hanson at ihanson@kansan.com. This story was edited by Amy Schmitz.
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