February 28, 2012

Student Health & Wellness Board (2 positions)

(1st Position)
Daniel Housley
(2nd Position)
Rhylee Smith

Daniel Housley

 

Personal Statement:

Student Health & Wellness BoardI am an incumbent for this position and so I have personal experience serving on the Student Health Advisory Board. In addition, I am a Technologist in Chemistry certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathology (in other words, I was one of the people your doctor would send your blood/urine/other body fluids to for clinical testing). I worked at ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory based in Salt Lake City, for nearly 5 years and was promoted to Senior Technologist II. I left my career there last July to pursue my law degree at Lewis & Clark. My experience in the clinical laboratory puts me in a unique position to speak for the student body on the advisory board; I can relate to both the patient and the doctor while understanding the “behind-the-scenes” work, the costs, and the regulations associated with providing quality patient care.

 

Goals:

I would like to get more options for the health insurance plan, such as one plan with a low deductible and high premium and another with a high deductible and low premium. I want to keep costs to students for both mental and physical health services on the undergrad campus at a minimum.

 

Rhylee Smith

 

Personal Statement:
Hello Lewis & Clark! My name is Rhylee Smith, I am currently a 2L and I would like to represent our student body on the Student Health & Wellness Committee. I believe I am the right candidate for this position because I have long been fascinated by the intersection of healthcare and the law and would like to pursue a career in this field. Furthermore, I am committed to improving the quality of healthcare resources that are currently available for L&C law students.

I have experience both in the realm of student health and also in student government. While in undergrad, I worked in a medical office and gained knowledge of licensing requirements and scope of practice. In addition, I gained experience engaging medical professionals and working with insurance companies. Currently, I am taking both healthcare law and administrative law, which I believe are indicative of my interest in health & wellness and also of my commitment to understanding the legal issues regarding access to healthcare.

In addition to my course work, I serve as a board member on the American Constitutional Society and as the Cultural Outreach coordinator for the Jewish Legal Society. My experience in serving these two student groups has taught me a lot about time management, organization and student advocacy. I am excited about the potential to advocate on behalf of our student body at any board meetings I will be required to attend.  Additionally, I look forward to working with SBA in organizing events and networking with other law students, faculty and professionals from our community.

Goals:
The Student Health & Wellness committee is so new that the students that serve as representatives will have the ability to shape the vision and goals of the committee. I am very excited about reaching out to the student body and asking you all what your needs are, what changes you would like to see, and how I can work with SBA and the other committee members on reaching a resolution to your concerns in regards to student health and wellness. Like many of you, I am concerned about the current health insurance plan and would like to explore more options that will improve the quality of student health services while keeping costs low and affordable for students. Additionally, I am interested in potentially organizing panels and workshops that address issues of stress, mental health, substance abuse and addiction. As future lawyers, stress is inevitable and our mental as well as physical health should be a priority. I want students to feel that they have access to resources that
 can help them cope with stress, but more importantly, I want students to know that their health is something our overall campus is concerned with.