Learn About Health Service
We talked to some members of the Health Service team to learn about the work that they have been doing and the services they offer. Health Service is available to students on the Medford/Somerville campus, as well as SMFA students. They offer primary care, acute care for injury or illness, sexual health services, labwork, travel/pre-entrance vaccinations, and gender-affirming health care, and they have a dietitian, chiropractor, and acupuncturist available. They offer both in-person and telehealth services, as well as an after-hours service.
Students can schedule appointments or ask questions through the online patient portal. If they are acutely ill, they can call.
"We encourage students to be involved in their own health care. We try to help them advocate for themselves and learn to navigate the health care system," said Marie Caggiano, MD, MPH, Medical Director. Health Service can talk to parents and families if the student gives permission, but the staff members want to hear from students and encourage them to get in touch directly about any issues.
Health Service has a respiratory unit for illnesses ranging from colds and flu to COVID-19. They manage the care for every student who tests positive for COVID at Tufts.
Marianne Coscia, BSN, is the Senior Nurse Manager/Clinical Manager who supervises the day-to-day operations of the clinic. When the pandemic began, she took on the role of managing all of the students in quarantine and isolation. For her extraordinary efforts during a challenging year, Marianne was awarded the 2021 Louise Gazzara Award. Named after a former Tufts nurse, the award honors a college nurse who has made outstanding contributions to their college or university, the profession, and/or the New England College Health Association (NECHA).
Dr. Caggiano began at Tufts on April 1, 2020. "The landscape of health care and what I had understood I was going to be doing in this job became very different very quickly, but it has been an opportunity for us to collaborate more closely with some other departments across the University like the Dean of Student Affairs office and Residential Life," she said.
Health Service strongly recommends that all students get a flu vaccine, and COVID booster shots are now required for all members of the Tufts community; students can get these vaccinations when they are home for winter break if they haven't already.
