Bruce Korus has spent his career in numerous healthcare related positions, including hospital administration and physician group management. He joined the Elmbrook Rotary meeting to share his insight on the mental health crisis in colleges today and offer suggestions on how to “help your kids survive and thrive through their college years”.Today, anxiety is the most common challenge for students, with almost 1/3 of college students feeling so depressed that they...
have had trouble functioning over the last twelve months. More than 80% of students feel overwhelmed and 50% feel things are hopeless. This can lead to deadly consequences; suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. College is a stressful period for our young adults’ lives.
What can we as parents, primary care providers and colleges do to address this crisis?
· Expand the number of college mental health counselors available to address mental health issues on a timely basis.
· Provide the whole person health, body, mind, and spirit care at the primary care service level.
· Educate ourselves on how to help our kids through these stressful years of their lives.
One publication option is “The Stressed Years of Their Lives – Helping Your Kid Survive and Thrive During Their College Years”. This book is a guide for the parents of every college and college-bound student who want to know what’s normal mental health and behavior, what’s not, and how to intervene before it’s too late.
The whole person’s health approach of body, mind, spirit and social are key to a happy fulfilled life and longevity. Exercise alone can extend one’s life from 3-5 years and provide 5-10 years of improved quality of life. Just walking on a regular basis provides these benefits.
Bruce feels that organizations outside of healthcare will lead the transformation in improving health in Americans. Colleges, businesses, and other organizations will be key in this transformation. A positive organization example he referred to is the Rotary Four Way Test.
In closing, Bruce reviewed the Four Way Test - of things we think, say, or do.
· Is it the Truth?
· Is it Fair to all Concerned?
· Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
· Will It be Beneficial to all concerned?
For more information regarding Bruce’s company, Korus Health Innovation, you can contact him here.
