Hospitalizations

When a student requires emergency hospitalization and/or a stay at a treatment facility, intensive outpatient facility, or rehabilitation center, they work with the Student Support team. Students must complete the following process before returning to on-campus life and coursework. A hospital stay is a serious event, and the goal of this process is to help students prioritize their health and create a support plan to safely and successfully return to on-campus life at Tufts when they are ready to do so. 

1. Release of Information: Students will need to request and sign a release of information form with their admitting hospital facility. This form will authorize the student's hospital treatment team to share information with the clinical team at Tufts. This dialogue between clinicians at the admitting facility and at Tufts is crucial for planning aftercare and discharge, anticipating any potential needs or challenges when the student returns to Tufts, and helping to facilitate a safe and successful transition back to campus.  
    
2. Clinical Documentation: The post-hospitalization discharge summary from the admitting facility must be provided to the clinical team at the Tufts Health Service and/or the Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Service. Where appropriate, the Tufts clinical team may require additional and/or alternative clinical documentation for review. The Tufts clinical team may also follow up with the student, the student’s outpatient providers, and/or the admitting facility for more information as necessary and appropriate. 
    
3. Support Meetings: Students will have a meeting with a member of the Tufts clinical team and a meeting with a member of the Student Support team. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the student’s return to campus, think through their support needs and options, and develop a plan for transitioning back to school. Students may also need or wish to meet with other campus partners (e.g., Advising Deans, StAAR Center, etc.); the Student Support team can help to arrange any additional meetings as appropriate.

It is important for students, families, and providers to note that the threshold necessary for discharge from a hospital setting is not the same threshold necessary to live and study safely, independently, and successfully on a college campus. Students who are ready to leave a hospital may still need additional time and care before returning to academic and residential life at Tufts.

Students have the option to take a medical leave of absence after a hospitalization, and the Student Support team can help students understand and consider this option. 

In certain circumstances where there is significant concern about a student’s ability to return to campus safely and successfully, a student may be required to take a medical leave or switch temporarily to remote learning if possible and appropriate. In these cases, the Student Support team will continue to work closely with the student to help them transition off campus, and to help them ultimately return to campus when they are ready. 

Academic Support