Many of the issues that patients raise stem from a breakdown in communication, Cannon says.

“A lot of people don’t read the huge packets that come in the mail,” she says. “They don’t know how to use our system.”

Cannon sees this communication gap as the main issue between students and UHS. She tries to work closely with University administrators to facilitate their understanding of students’ needs, what UHS services are available and how to go about accessing them.

As for problems patients may have with individual clinicians, Cannon says that she works as directly as possible with the staff to both inform them of complaints and maintain patient confidentiality.

But Cannon’s 28 years at UHS, first as a nursing assistant and then in management, make her particularly adept at facilitating these types of patient complaints.

“Because I’ve been here so long, I have a rapport with the clinicians. I’ll go right to them to discuss complaints.” she says.

“I’ll tell a situation—while keeping the confidentiality of the patient—and ask how it can be resolved. I keep a report and tell the chief of the department.”

Her office also conducts a monthly lecture series on student life for administrators and has distributed handbooks on UHS to the various deans. She is responsible for the health-related orientation programs for tutors and proctors. Beyond that, though, her office works directly with students through a variety of outreach programs.

Though recognizing and fixing problems is the main part of Cannon’s job, she says that she fields compliments as well. The feedback from comment cards allow her to see where UHS is succeeding.

“We’ve made new signs that say “If you’re satisfied, tell us. If you’re not, tell us that too,” she says. “People have actually taken the time to write compliments.”

Most important to Cannon, though, is maintaining a respectful and safe environment for patients to speak about confidential emails.

Her full attention always goes to the person she is working with at the moment. Even if her phone is ringing off the hook—as it often does—she refuses to answer while she is meeting with someone in person.

But despite her long hours and the difficulty of dealing with a diverse array of problems, UHS is not Cannon’s entire life and signs of her other main interest—her family—surround her at the office.

Like any proud grandmother, her desk and office walls are decorated with photographs of her three granddaughters.

“I had to put an extra picture up of my youngest, because she looks like a boy in this one,” she laughs. “We made her hair look like Pebbles instead.”