by Cheyenne Schoen |
UP alumna Margaret Trout has found her way back to The Bluff, and is excited to be returning. Trout was recently appointed director of the UP Health Center. She spent the last 10 years in an identical position at Willamette University, where she oversaw health, counseling and disability services. Prior to that, she was a nurse manager and assistant director at Portland State University’s Health Center for five years.
UP has nearly 1,500 more students than Willamette, and Trout looks forward to working with this larger student population. Trout’s immediate goal is to get the Health Center fully staffed. Three positions, including a nurse practitioner, receptionist and an educator, are currently vacant.
“My first goal is to get those positions filled so that we can be open more hours to meet the needs of more students,” Trout said. “We’re not understaffed by the school’s resources; the school values the Health Center, we just don’t have people in those positions working. We need to get the word out.”
Last year, ASUP executive board candidate, senior Mariah Wildgen, paid particular attention to the health services as part of her campaign. One of the main issues Wildgen sees with the Health Center is how underutilized its services are.
“It’s tough because I don’t feel like a lot of students know about the Health Center,” Wildgen said. “You’re only told your freshman year that there is one, but we’re not really reminded of it. It’s not centrally located, so you could easily go all four years without having ever gone there.”
After getting adequately staffed, Trout looks forward to increasing the Health Center’s outreach into the student community. She said that her goal is to be a “cheerleader” for the Health Center, making it more well known and accessible to students.
Trout took part in many initiatives related to student health at Willamette. Beginning Jan. 1, Willamette will be smoke-free, an accomplishment Trout is proud of spearheading. Trout served as the adviser to Willamette Emergency Medical Services (WEMS), a student group that encourages and facilitates training such as CPR and First Aid to those expressing interests in emergency medical services.
Additionally, Trout served as a founding adviser for the Sexual Assault Response Allies (SARAs), a student-led support group that advocates for those who have been impacted by sexual violence.
Willamette psychology major Madison Rotter, a SARA student coordinator, worked with Trout and attested to her many contributions to the program.
“She's a huge reason that Willamette can pride itself as one of the few institutions with a peer network to respond to such traumatic incidences,” Rotter said. “Much of her legacy remains in the fact that our community has developed into a survivor-focused campus and her work and support in helping the SARAs become a confidential resource.”
Rotter said that Trout will be greatly missed at Willamette, but she trusts that Trout will have an equally meaningful impact on the UP community.
Cheyenne is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at schoen17@up.edu or on Twitter @cheyschoen.
