Susan Snyder was made the director of Student Health Services in the summer of 2007. Since her beginning at UB a decade ago, Snyder has been doing her part to get the ball rolling and make students' health a priority.
Snyder, who has her master's degree in health policy and management, was a significant contributor to the development and evolution of Health Services at UB.
"I started as a one-year temporary position. I was asked to move their methods from paper to computer," Snyder said. "I was finding systems and evaluating them, and training the staff on them. It was discovered that there were other things I would be helpful with and I stayed on and became associate director."
Snyder held various positions within Health Services over the years, which she believes gave her the experience she needed to become the director. After becoming the associate director, Snyder took the position of administrative director and did a lot of behind-the-scenes work dealing with budget and project management.
"I have a history here. My bosses and staff have a certain amount of trust in me. I was able to get started quickly and feel comfortable in the changes that needed to be made," Snyder said.
In addition to directing Health Services, Snyder works with two other directors who make up the Wellness Team: Sherri Darrow, director of Wellness Education and Sharon Mitchell, director of Counseling Services. Together, the triumvirate ensures that UB's wellness program runs smoothly.
"We form a team - the wellness team. We share funding and have a unified mission of caring for students," Snyder said.
Snyder's current project is the student services satisfaction survey, which is meant to evaluate the various Health Services and obtain feedback from students. The survey is also targeted at students who don't use the Health Services in order to find out why. Overall, Snyder keeps students at the forefront of her policy.
"I have made some great steps internally in order to provide the best care for students," Snyder said.
Among other responsibilities, Snyder has taken on the task of actively training and developing her staff. Hiring seven new staff members since July, Snyder has brought new energy and ideas into Health Services.
She plans on making other changes to Health Services as well, in order to improve students' lifestyles. According to Snyder, it doesn't matter if it is a major or minor change, as long as a change occurs.
"It could be simply wearing a seatbelt, safer sex practices, or having a one-on-one with a student and taking that advantage to teach a life-long lesson," Snyder said. "I want to take these opportunities to provide students with knowledge by asking questions and making sure students are empowered to take care of themselves."
Snyder plans to provide students with better access to personal care information by having a more robust Web site, hoping to ignite their interest in taking care of themselves.
"When a student is looking for information at two in the morning, we can provide them with enough information, so they may have the appropriate resources and for some students they feel more comfortable being anonymous," Snyder said.
In order for Snyder to reach her goals, she knows that students need to take full advantage of the services offered by the Wellness Team. It's important that students know that no one will be denied services. Students' health insurance has to work in conjunction with the schools, but Health Services is more than willing to help students figure out how to use their own insurance for their benefit.
According to Snyder, students will definitely be noticing some differences and will have the opportunity to be better connected with the Wellness Team.
"I am spending a lot of time making a good plan where we can fulfill students'
wishes and demands, and I hope to continue to gain student's feedback," Snyder said.
