Health and Wellness

University life is notorious for demanding multiple expectations and commitments from students, and it can be difficult to balance these responsibilities. Health and Wellness is here to support you in putting yourself and your wellness first.

Self-care is more than an act, it’s a skillset that we develop and need at every stage of our lives during and beyond university. Students sometimes need help remembering this, let alone knowing how to make the right changes. Health and Wellness can help you figure out where to start. More importantly, they’re committed to cultivating a safe space, without judgement, where all experiences and perspectives are valid. Everyone experiences life differently and everyone defines personal and academic success differently.

A variety of information and programming are available to UM community members to help enhance their well-being. These include Healthy U, a program powered by peer education that provides empirically validated information on health and wellness. Student volunteers are trained in mental health, sexual health and overall wellness education and their initiatives connect students to resources they need. The Healthy U website also offers resources you can access at your convenience.

For more information on programming offered by Health and Wellness, or volunteer opportunities, visit the Health and Wellness website or contact healthandwellness [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.

University Health Service

Physical health is extremely important in maintaining all aspects of personal well-being. The doctors, nurses and support staff at University Health Service (UHS) provide patient-centered, multidisciplinary primary care to the UM community and support balanced lifestyles that will enable them to succeed on a daily basis.

UHS has established two health clinics, allowing students to access care without having to leave either of the two main campuses. They offer services such as full body check-ups or physical examinations, diagnosis and treatment of health concerns, family planning and pregnancy care, travel health and safety consultations, and more.

Students can access all the services a typical family doctor’s office would offer at UHS clinics. All staff that you would engage with go above and beyond to meet each patient’s needs and create a positive experience.

Influenza vaccinations and COVID vaccinations are offered on an appointment basis. While in-person services have resumed, some virtual services still remain available. Students, faculty and staff can schedule in-person or virtual appointments by calling (204) 474-8411.

To help alleviate additional burdens on the Manitoba health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health strongly encourages every Manitoban to be vaccinated for influenza.

In line with this, the University Health Service (UHS), in partnership with Dr. Amanda Condon, Director of Immunization Services at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences (RFHS), will be offering vaccination clinics to provide access to influenza vaccination to staff and students of the University of Manitoba as well as patients of UHS.

Flu Clinic (Fort Garry campus) – November 12 and 22
University Health Service

All employees and students of the University of Manitoba, as well as members of the public are invited to attend the following clinics for a seasonal influenza immunization:

Multi-purpose Rooms (MPR), second floor, UMSU University Centre

• Friday, November 12, 8:45 AM to 3:45 PM
• Monday, November 22, 8:45 AM to 3:45 PM

Please bring your Manitoba Health card, or out-of-province health card, Blue Cross card or Guard Me insurance card when you attend a clinic. Please wear a shirt that allows you to expose your upper arm. Immunizations will be provided by clinicians.

Appointment required: This flu immunization clinic is open to anyone who is eligible to be on campus. To book your appointment with University Health Service call the UHS office at 204-474-8411.

Flu Clinic (Bannatyne campus) – November 2 and 15
Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Immunization Program

All employees and students of the University of Manitoba, as well as members of the public are invited to attend the following clinics for a seasonal influenza immunization:

Skills Lab, second floor, Basic Medical Sciences Building

• Tuesday, November 2, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
• Monday, November 15, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Please bring your Manitoba Health card or out-of-province health card when you attend a clinic. print and complete the attached consent form, and bring it with you to your appointment. If you do not have a printer or cannot bring the form we will have extra forms. 

Please wear a shirt that allows you to expose your upper arm. Immunizations will be provided by clinicians as well as supervised healthcare students.

Appointment required: This clinic is by appointment only, please sign up using this secure link.

Please show up as close as possible to your scheduled time to minimize numbers of individuals in attendance. You must wear a mask on campus. You can only access the campus using your UM staff or student ID card, swiping in at a designated entrance.

University Centre Pharmacy – Starting November 2 

University Centre Pharmacy is offering free flu shot clinics:

• Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning November 2, 2021.

 No appointment is necessary. While quantities last.

See the pharmacy website for more information.

To make your visit as safe as possible:

At home, the day of your appointment, you must complete the online Shared Health COVID-19 self-assessment tool. If any of your responses are “Yes” please stay home, do not arrive for your appointment. If anyone at home is self-isolating due to symptoms, you may be required to self-isolate as well, unless you are exempt from this requirement.

Why should I get the flu vaccine?

Ten to twenty percent of the Canadian population becomes infected with influenza each year, resulting in over 10,000 hospitalizations and over 3,000 deaths.

Getting the flu vaccine every year is the best way to protect against seasonal influenza (the flu). When you get immunized, you also help protect others as well by reducing the spread of the influenza virus. This is especially important because some people are too young to get immunized or have medical conditions that leave them at risk of getting influenza even if they have already been immunized.

To mitigate additional burdens on the health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Health strongly encourages every Manitoban to be vaccinated for influenza.

The flu can seem like a common cold, but the symptoms of the flu are usually more severe. Fever, body aches, extreme tiredness and a dry cough are more common with the flu than with a common cold. Also, the flu is more likely to lead to serious problems like pneumonia, bacterial infections and hospitalization.

Other than a sore arm, the vaccine does NOT cause side effects such as fever, muscle aches, or respiratory illness.

You may also obtain an influenza immunization from one of the following options:

• Your own healthcare provider (e.g., family physician, nurse practitioner, pharmacist)
• Any WRHA Occupational Health units, for healthcare students and WRHA staff only; call the unit before attending 
• Public Health influenza clinics and offices.
• Most pharmacies (check with your local pharmacy)
• Walk-In Connected Care Clinics (WICC), or general walk-in clinics.

University Health Service (UHS) provides primary care to students at UM’s Fort Garry and Bannatyne campuses. Taking a multifaceted approach to promoting health and wellness within the UM community, UHS offers a multitude of services such as full body check-ups or physical examinations, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health concerns, family planning and pregnancy care, travel health and safety consultations, immunizations, and more.

“We offer all the services that a typical family doctor’s office would offer,” says Dr. Lori-Ann Lach, a family physician and the Director of University Health Service. Students receiving care and assistance from UHS directly engage with support staff, nurses, and physicians – all of whom go above and beyond to create a positive experience for each patient and meet their needs.

In addition, the UHS staff are not new to operating within the limitations of the remote environment. The Fort Garry clinic was severely damaged by a fire incident in March 2020, leaving the unit without a clinical space prior to the University of Manitoba’s transition to online course delivery. “We would offer telephone appointments, but we couldn’t see people in person,” Dr. Lach says.

The Bannatyne clinic was then opened in October 2020, allowing UHS to resume in-person visits while continuing to offer virtual appointments by phone when possible.

As of February 1st, temporary medical trailers opened for in-person visits on the Fort Garry campus. “We’ll keep the Bannatyne clinic open two days a week, the Fort Garry trailers will be open for five days a week, and we’re still offering virtual appointments,” Dr. Lach adds.

Furthermore, UHS provides on-call services after business hours and on weekends. “We would not be able to offer the caller an in-person visit that evening or weekend, but if we felt there was an in-person visit needed, we would refer them to urgent care or emergency as required,” Dr. Lach says.

Despite all challenges posed by the pandemic, UHS support staff, nurses and physicians remain dedicated to providing the best quality of care while recognizing the risk and severity of today’s circumstances. Dr. Lach emphasizes: “We take COVID-19 very seriously and put screening, cleaning, and physical distancing protocols in place so that – I would hope – the patients attending our clinics feel very safe doing so. We are doing all that we can to provide great service to people and help as much as we can.”

More information on University Health Service, including contact information for both campus clinics and other related resources can be found on their website.

“With the opening of UHS at Bannatyne, Bannatyne campus students will have access to on-site medical care, minimizing any disruption to their studies,” says Lori Ann Lach, Director, University Health Service. “This will make accessing health care much less stressful and more convenient for busy students.”

The clinic can be found at P309 – Pathology Building. The newly renovated space will allow students at Bannatyne campus to access same day medical care, or a family physician while attending classes.  

Raman Dhaliwal, Director of Administration and Operations for the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences is happy that the clinic will address some longstanding issues. She says, “I am very pleased with the opening of the Bannatyne Health Clinic. This has been an outstanding accreditation issue in the College of Medicine for the past two accreditation cycles. This will allow timely and convenient access for students at the Bannatyne campus to essential health services.”

Students can access the clinic over the phone by calling 204-272-3148. Learn more here.