Located in the USU, the Klotz Student Health Center’s satellite location, the Living Well Lounge provides students with an inviting atmosphere for relaxation and wellness.
‘The KSHC has designed programs and services to support health and well-being the best way we can. We’re always growing and always seeking assessment and information from students to better serve them,’ said Sharon Aronoff, health educator at the KSHC.
The Living Well Lounge started as a vision from KSHC Director Yolanda (Linda) Reid Chassiakos, M.D., FAAP. She wanted the health center to be able to reach students in a space that was both welcoming and approachable. In November the lounge will be one year old.
Chassiakos said research through the American College Health Association showed that through wellness students have been able to achieve better academic goals.
She works with colleagues that serve as liaisons between the student body and Health Center. Together they strive to promote health improvement, feeling better and reaching academic goals among students.
Staffed by education psychology students, also referred to as Alive and Well Peer Health Education students, they cater to the CSUN community in a mellow environment. With modern d’eacute;cor that resembles the fa’ccedil;ade of an IKEA living room display, the lounge has developed a regular patron base.
‘We have a couple of regulars and they tell others about it, they also have their study groups here,’ said Tamara Barden, Graduate Assistant at the Living Well Lounge.
Barden added that commuter students are primarily among those who participate in the popular meditation and yoga sessions. She said students usually walk in as a result of curiosity and the signs they have out front. For her, the best part of working at the lounge is seeing student’s faces as they become enlightened and utilize their services.
The KSHC provides the CSUN community with ambulatory health care at low costs.
On Nov. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the Living Well Lounge will be providing faculty staff and students flu shots at a drop-in basis for $15. They also provide services anytime by appointment.
Barden said those who receive flu shots will also receive free chair massages.
‘Dr. Linda Reid Chassiakos finds ways to make it happen with as little money as possible,’ said Aronoff.
She said all of their services have been successful in the CSUN community and adapting new programs is an ongoing process.
Some services provided at the KSHC include massage therapy, acupuncture and peer nutrition counseling. Appointments for services at the lounge are subject to availability. The center also provides yoga and meditation sessions for CSUN students at no cost.
Students can also take advantage of the lounge’s health education literature and videos, or the information lounge on the second floor of the USU’s Sol Center. The information lounge is not staffed, but provides ample health resources from the Student Health Center.
‘We all exist to support student services. We are all here as student support,’ said Aronoff.
