Health Services opens Family Clinic

Scholars, researchers, students and eligible family members coming to the University of Waterloo from other countries, provinces or communities will be able to access primary medical care on the main University campus at the new Family Health Clinic, located in the Health Services Complex.

The clinic offers services for patients of all ages, including:

• Primary medical care
• Prenatal to six-weeks postpartum care for mothers and babies, provided by St. Jacobs Midwives
• Well-baby check-ups
• Pediatric care
• Educational services, including parenting and nutrition groups and a newcomer clinic offered once per term
• Verification of illness (VIF) or support letters for students
• Interpreter services as required

The Family Health Clinic is now  open, with a team including four physicians and three nurses, as well as health promotions and support staff.

The clinic addresses a growing need to support students, scholars, researchers and their families, who move to Waterloo Region from other countries or regions, and struggle to find family doctors, or face additional fees not covered under their health insurance plan. The clinic will bill the University Health Insurance Plan, or other sanctioned health insurance plans directly, forgoing additional fees often charged to international visitors by walk-in clinics and family practices.  Third-party fees may still apply for services or procedures not covered under these plans.

The new Family Health Clinic will serve:

• Registered students with dependents
• Post-doctoral researchers and their families
• Visiting scholars and their families
• Family members, including parents or siblings, who come to Waterloo expressly to support an individual during their academic career at the University

Those who are eligible to receive care at the new Family Health Clinic can pre-register to help Health Services anticipate patient volumes and staff accordingly. For more information about the Family Health Clinic, please call 519-888-4990.

Formal opening ceremonies will take place at 9:00 a.m. today at the Health Services Complex.

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Annual federal-provincial sim taking place

Hundreds of high school students in Waterloo Region will participate in Canada's longest-running simulated federal-provincial conference at the University of Waterloo today and tomorrow.

The annual event, organized by Waterloo's political science department and the regional history heads association, has been held at the university for last 49 years. A total of 325 students from 14 high schools will attend the conference.

"The Federal-Provincial Government Conference Simulation, which is popularly known as Fed-Prov, is unique in Canada," said John Jaworsky, a professor of political science at Waterloo. "The conference is an excellent opportunity for students to become interested and engaged in politics while in high school."

This year, Isaac Wright from Southwood Secondary School, will handle the role of Canada's prime minister. His SSS colleagues will serve as federal ministers. Students from other schools will chair meetings of provincial and territorial ministers. 

In addition to first ministers meetings, ministerial delegations will participate in committees dealing with financial, justice, health, environmental, agricultural, economic, immigration and aboriginal affairs.

Two schools - Grand River Collegiate Institute and Preston High School - will produce newspapers during the conference to provide information and spark debate. One of the schools will be the recipient of the Waterloo Region Record's federal provincial conference press award.

The John Boulden Award, named after one of the founders of the conference simulation, will be given to one of the student first ministers based on a vote by all participants.

Working sessions take place in the Arts Lecture Hall, J. G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities and the Modern Languages building on Tuesday and Wednesday. The concluding plenary session will be held in the Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages building, on Wednesday, from 1:45 to 3:00 p.m.

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Celebrate Giving Tuesday

A message from the Office of Advancement

Today marks the opening day of the giving season. Now that the hype of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has subsided, Giving Tuesday is a global day dedicated to giving back. Today, charities, families, businesses, community groups, and individuals around the world will come together for a common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give back.

Now in its third year, Giving Tuesday is gaining momentum as a global movement that celebrates the power of giving in all of its forms. The University of Waterloo has partnered with Giving Tuesday Canada to endorse this movement and encourage our Waterloo community to give back.

We invite you to be a part of Giving Tuesday by making a gift, volunteering your time, helping a neighbour in need, or spreading the word of philanthropy. Share your involvement and inspire others by tagging #GivingTuesdayCa.

However you choose to celebrate Giving Tuesday, thank you!

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WatITis conference tomorrow; other notes

WatITis 2014, the University's annual Waterloo Information Technology and Information Systems conference, is set to take place tomorrow in the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre. More than 25 sessions have been scheduled on a variety of technological topics including 3D printing, designing courses for smartphones, the student portal, open data, and campus wayfinding, among others.

Held annually since 2003, WatITis is a conference that promotes collaboration among information technology (IT) staff at Waterloo. The conference is open to all staff, faculty and students involved in IT.

"The Waterloo Wild Wolves novice hockey team made good use of the Waterloo sign just off University Avenue to put together a creative team picture for a hockey tournament they will be part of early January 2015 (the CUJO Invitational in Newmarket)," writes the School of Accounting and Finance's Darren Charters. "They rounded up numerous pairs of black glasses to give them a more studious look."

"The Registrar’s Office and Student Awards & Financial Aid will be closing at 11:30 a.m. and will re-open at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 3 for a holiday event," writes Mark Grant. "Our apologies for the inconvenience."

Those of you up early this morning will have noticed that Quest was down from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. while network improvements were begin made. Quest will be down from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. tomorrow as well (Wednesday, December 3) for scheduled networking changes.

Hey, if you happen to be in Trastevere, Italy on Friday, December 5, be sure to check out the Waterloo School of Architecture Rome Program's Exhibition.

The Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo's Fall General Meeting will take place on Friday, December 5 in DC 1302 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

"The Staff Relations Committee wants all staff to know that it has opened up the first portion of its meetings to members of the university community and regularly has agenda items of interest to staff members in all units of the university," writes Mike Grivicic. "At the meeting this Friday, December 5 starting at 12:15 p.m., there will be presentations and discussion on healthy workplace initiatives as well as the policy renewal project and staff-related policies. The meeting will be in Needles Hall 3001 and the committee invites you to bring your lunch and join us in learning more about these terrific activities."

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