Welcome to the Summer 2025 edition of the Student Health and Well-Being (SHW) newsletter. We’re pleased to continue providing updates of activities and events across our cluster to keep our campus partners abreast of emerging trends, as well as campus activations and other developments. 

UC San Diego Health has once again secured the No. 1 ranking in San Diego, according to the 2025-2026 U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals" survey alongside top national rankings for nine specialties. Being named No. 1 in the region for the sixth consecutive year underscores our unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care. This recognition is a testament to the dedication and expertise of our health teams who work tirelessly to ensure our patients receive the highest quality care possible every day. The 2025-2026 U.S. News & World Report survey evaluated more than 4,400 hospitals across 15 specialties and 22 common procedures and conditions. Read more in UC San Diego Today.    

The Triton Health and Wellness Building is taking shape. The exterior is now complete. Major construction is expected to be completed by early January 2026 followed by system testing in Spring 2026. The building is expected to be turned over by the end of April 2026 and go-live in July 2026. Check out the Live Cam for up-to-date progress on construction. For more information on how we will transform health care with the new facility, review the June 2025 issue of the UC San Diego Magazine. 

Designed by students for students, the Willo mobile app connects students with personalized wellness resources and communities at UC San Diego. They are able to find timely available campus resources and events, discover recommended services based on their interest and needs and connect with their MyChart to view upcoming appointments. SHW and Jacobs Center for Health Innovation initiated a new Willo marketing campaign called "Sprint to 10K" to increase the number of student downloads and engagement especially with the incoming FA25 first-year, transfer, exchange and graduate students. As part of the campaign, we are looking for ways to integrate Willo into programming during Orientation and Welcome Weeks. Our goal is to elevate the many opportunities and events already underway highlighting the incredible resources across campus and ensure students see Willo as a central hub for connecting with them. For more information, visit willo.ucsd.edu.

UC San Diego is leading the way in implementing third-party billing capabilities at SHW for the upcoming academic year. This new initiative is a collaboration between SHW and UC San Diego Health and aims to increase access for non-UC SHIP students and reduce out-of-pocket costs for students. Early stages will focus on developing a process for the top insurance providers for students who waive UC SHIP such as Aetna, Anthem/Blue Cross, Blue Shield, UC Care, and United Health. 

Triton CORE provides a student-centered, trauma-informed response to assess and support students experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The team receives welfare checks from staff, faculty, non affiliates, and even the students themselves.

With the expansion of the team, Triton CORE now conducts welfare checks until 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. As a reminder, if you're concerned about a student in distress, please don’t hesitate to contact Triton CORE by calling the UCPD non-emergency line at (858) 534-4357. 

The Comprehensive Immersive Care (CIC) program is getting a new name and will fully open in Fall 2025. The Triton Lighthouse: Immersive Care Program is a short-term, comprehensive support initiative for UC San Diego students navigating mental health challenges. Designed to provide coordinated and compassionate care that nurtures student well-being, the program offers individualized treatment plans that may include skill-based workshops, therapy, case management, community activities, psychiatric support and digital resources. Through campus partnerships, evidence-based practices and trauma-informed care, Triton Lighthouse empowers students with the tools and community they need to move forward with resilience and balance.  

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is enhancing transparency and empowering students by implementing Open Notes—where clients can access their mental health clinician notes — by September 2025. Mandated by the 21st Century Cure Act, this practice fosters transparency, strengthens therapeutic relationships, and empowers clients in their recovery journey. Kelley Adams is the CAPS Quality and Patient Safety Director and Sarah Clavell Storer is the CAPS Clinical Director, both working with Epic and UC Risk to effect change. 

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease caused by the measles virus also known as rubeola. Infected people can spread the virus to others from 4 days before the rash appears through 4 days after. The virus can live for up to 2 hours in the air after the infected person leaves an area. Measles can cause fever, cough, runny nose, pink eye, red spots inside the mouth and a body rash that starts at the headline and spreads downwards towards the rest of the body.  In recent outbreaks, 95% of cases are unvaccinated or with unknown vaccine status. The best protection against measles is the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Vaccinations can slow down outbreaks and can provide protection from infection as early as two weeks. Take a moment to check your vaccine status/immunity with your healthcare provider. Learn more in Blink.  

Staff from the SHW cluster and campus partners are meeting this summer about how to prevent suicides among the campus community. We'll be looking at multiple strategies to determine what could be effective, such as reducing the accessibility of means of suicide, including securing medications to prevent overdose or installing protective barriers in high locations; training faculty and staff in suicide prevention awareness and intervention techniques; and promoting the 988 suicide and crisis intervention line. Many campus departments already address student suicide risk and we are aiming to improve collaboration and communication to become even more effective.

Thank you to our 60 Well-Being Peer Educators (WPEs) who logged 2,500+ hours in promoting well-being at UC San Diego and reached 7,000+ students. Applications are now open for the 2025-2026 WPEs — share this link with students to apply!  

College orientation is coming up and over 14,000+ new students will be learning all about the SHW cluster-wide services and programs via the College and GEPA Canva sites. There are many great opportunities for the Colleges to help promote SHW webinars, programming and partnership including the New Family Orientation Hub. 

We're actively helping incoming students of the 2025-26 academic year fulfill their specific health requirements such as vaccinations, TB risk assessments and insurance for entering UC San Diego in the fall. TB holds were placed July 29 and Immunization holds will go on November 1. Over 6,000 TB documents are submitted and 10,000 documents for immunization requirements to date, and 13,298 students partially or fully compliant for TB and 12,625 for immunization requirements. We've had six well-attended incoming students, families, and international student webinars, and many thousands of Ask-A-Nurse questions responded to. 

During the summer, SHS doors open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. Students who graduated in June with UC SHIP are eligible to be seen at SHS until Fall 2025 begins. Telehealth appointments and SHS prescription FedEx deliveries are available for UC SHIP students not in San Diego but still in California.  

Student Health Services (SHS) is working with students to ensure they are fully vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella for the coming academic year. Primary symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, pink eye, and rash. SHS implemented a screening protocol for scheduling and patient check-in and staff are using appropriate PPE and isolation precautions.

UC SHIP is a student-focused benefits package for UCSD graduate and undergraduate students, including strong medical, behavioral health, pharmacy, dental, and vision care benefits. UC SHIP is compliant with the Affordable Care Act requirements and works to complement your care at the Student Health Services right on campus. Enrollment is automatic for registered students; waiver application is also available.   

The academic terms for next school year: 

* Footnote: Spring coverage includes summer

Students wanting a health fee waiver for AY25-26 may file a waiver application during the open waiver timeframes only on the TritonLink. The online health fee waiver application is available and accessible for Fall 2025 during the following periods for current registered students (new incoming students will be able to in August after registration):

 More health fee waiver information may be found on our website: Waiving UC SHIP 

The SHS patient experience surveys (PESs) are shared regularly with students via email or MyStudentChart message and collect feedback about services received throughout the SHS clinic, from primary care to behavioral health to lab. Data from the PESs is reviewed by management weekly to support the provision of quality care, celebrate staff efforts, and address any issues that are raised.  
 
Here are a few highlights from the many positive patient comments received this spring about our SHW Cluster colleagues: 

“

Noemy was absolutely amazing and helped me solve a really big problem. Went above and beyond! Thank you!

“

Dr. Perrino is always patient-centered, positive, and welcoming. I never feel that she dismisses my medical concerns, and she does her absolute best to provide both conservative and more extensive preventative/ treatment plans to lay out all the possible options for how I want to proceed. 

“

“Ashley V is very nice and welcoming! I appreciated her people skills, it made me feel less nervous about getting a shot!! Highly recommend her.

SHAA's Executive Suite of Tableau dashboards was recognized by the UC San Diego Health Tableau Day which was administered by the Health Information Developers group, for their high impact for leadership in addressing process improvement, impact and quality. Their suite includes 5 high-level dashboards utilized by the SHW Executive and Health Governance Groups.  

Triton Treats is back and better than ever for the 2025–26 academic year, starting with its first event at Revelle Plaza! Join us for lunch, connect with colleagues, and meet the new Staff Association Executive Board. Click here for details.   

TWOW, a campus-wide series of introductory activities, special programs, and signature events at the start of each academic year – designed to engage, inform, and welcome all students to the Triton community. 

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