The Bridge: COVID - Our Past Accomplishments and a Look to the Future
CORRECTION: The previously sent out Bridge edition misspelled the name of our accomplished and highly appreciated听Nancy Lorenzon in Biology, who managed collection sites and our student teams that operated morning, night and weekends!
快活app Public Health Takeover Edition
Moving Forward and Looking Back
As 快活app public health transitions from its emergency response to the pandemic to a sustainable model, we aim to grow from our experiences and integrate what we have learned into our operations. To that end, we are returning to what 快活app has always done well鈥攅ducating individuals to be responsible citizens.
The concept of citizenship has evolved over the last two years, elevating the importance of holistic health鈥攎eaning our community's physical and mental health. As institutions have shifted or are shifting their attention away from COVID, here at 快活app, we will integrate the remarkable work of our COVID team into new initiatives to cultivate a healthy workplace.
Sustaining Lessons
To keep our community healthy and effectively deliver on our mission, we must embrace the lessons we have learned over the last two years. Here are a few:
- If you have symptoms, get tested and wear a mask. 听
- Make time to create social connections. Relationships sustain us and others during challenging moments. 听
- Remember that we have a shared educational purpose, and a shared sense of purpose can be a powerful source of belonging. 听
- Quality science and data improves decision making.
Current COVID-19 Updates and Information
Fall 2022 COVID-19 Changes
Over the summer, we communicated specific changes to vaccination requirements, COVID-19 testing, and building access. This message summarizes what to expect when you return to campus fall 2022.
滨蝉辞濒补迟颈辞苍:听
This year we are not using the Hilltop Apartments as an isolation space for residential students who test positive for COVID-19. Instead, we are allowing students who live in congregate housing with communal bathrooms to leave campus and return to their home to isolate if they are able to safely travel in a personal vehicle.
Students who cannot leave campus and return home will isolate in an on-campus facility for at least five days from the date of their positive test and they will be released when they receive instructions from the University.
Students in Fraternity & Sorority Life housing and many residential students with single occupancy bedrooms will isolate in their own rooms.
罢别蝉迟颈苍驳:听
快活app no longer requires arrival testing or mandatory testing for COVID-19, except for the following situations: 听
- When you are notified by the 快活app contact tracers that you are part of an outbreak, defined by the Colorado Department of Public Health as five or more confirmed related cases of COVID-19 in a facility or group within 14 days 听
- When you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
- When you have been exposed and identified as a close contact of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19
For more information, click here.
Flu Clinics:
As in the past two years, the University requires the influenza (flu) vaccine for all students, faculty and staff living, learning or working on campus. For those with a COVID booster appointment please remember to bring your COVID vaccine card and, if you have medical insurance, please bring your insurance card.
You must receive and upload proof of your influenza vaccination to your or have an approved exemption no later than Dec. 15, 2022.
For more information regarding flu clinics and exception forms, click here.
Free Testing Remains Available at the Care Pod:
快活app鈥檚 Care Pod is open and available to any 快活app community member without an appointment.
Friends and family can test for a fee but must make an appointment through the portal.
Please check the for hours of operation and to make appointments for friends and family.
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Updated Location and Additional COVID Shot Clinics
Great news! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends the new bivalent (updated Omicron) booster for all those 12 years and older who have previously received the primary COVID-19 vaccine and/or the monovalent (original) booster.听
Please use the CDC vaccination calculator to determine if you are currently eligible to receive the new COVID-19 bivalent booster or when you will be eligible.
The flu/COVID-19 booster clinics will take place in the Daniels College of Business (DCB), room 125, also known as the Marcus Commons, at the dates and times listed below. Thanks to DCB for the use of their space for such an extended period.
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Clinic Dates and Times
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Wednesdays 1:30-4:30 p.m. |
Thursdays 2:00-4:00 p.m. |
Fridays 9:00-11:00 a.m. |
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October 19 October 26 November 2 November 9 November 16 |
October 13 October 20 October 27 |
November 11 November 18 |
Visit the New Public Health Website Here
Meet New Members of the Public Health Team at 快活app
Eric Hartman arrived at 快活app in the Summer of 2021 to establish an enterprise risk management (ERM) program at 快活app.
He spent most of his career in student affairs and was a chief student affairs officer for a decade. Hartman transitioned from student affairs into risk management seven years ago and during that time, he developed a national model for converting traditional risk management into initiatives that rally individuals together to address systemic priorities like workplace culture. 听
In June, Therese Mashak stepped into the role of Public Health Project Manager, a new position for the University and one that will focus on all 快活app community members, students, faculty, and staff.
Mashak brings years of experience as a critical staff member in the provost鈥檚 office as well as a master鈥檚 degree in Healthcare Administration. Mashak has supported aspects of the COVID-19 response since 2020. 听
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The Early Days of COVID
Sandy Johnson, director of the 快活app鈥檚 Global Health Affairs program gave a fantastic initial introduction to COVID-19 general impact, global response and xenophobia in the 快活app RadioEd episode "The Coronavirus: Keep Calm and Carry On" back on February 26, 2020.
Revisit the full episode here 鈫
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The Team That Carried 快活app:
COVID-19 Response Network
The COVID-19 Response Network was established in the pandemic鈥檚 early phases to handle the University response to positive COVID-19 tests and outbreaks and case identification from symptom tracking.
It was this team鈥檚 responsibility to implement response protocols such as contact tracing, quarantine/isolation of students/employees, building disinfection or space modification and reporting findings to the state, city and county. They also made rapid recommendations to inform senior leadership on serious and emergent issues and developed procedures and protocols when operational gaps were identified.
The COVID response team worked with National Jewish Health to set up vaccination clinics, making the COVID-19 vaccine available to the 快活app community as well as the community at large. Over 16,000 vaccinations were given as a result of this effort.
The 快活app COVID-19 Response Network is comprised of four groups:
- Senior leadership team
- COVID coordinator team
- University COVID-19 response team
- Health partner liaison team
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COVID Coordinator Sarah Watamura and Team
In late January 2020, 快活app leadership began intensively watching the developing SARS-COV2 鈥淐OVID-19鈥 pandemic, putting in motion contingency steps in the event that action was needed (e.g., buying supplies, investing in technology supports, evaluating extraction options for students abroad).
Led by a core team of four (Watamura, Lengsfeld, Silver, and Gorgens), these policies and operations were made possible through the extraordinary cooperation, dedication, and creativity of 70 highly involved staff, faculty, and students, supported by an additional 230 interns and volunteers.
We would also like to give a shout out to the amazing efforts of, Nancy Lorenzon in Biology, who managed collection sites and our student teams that operated morning, night and weekends. She also provides oversight to the EMS student team. She did everything from coordinating staffing schedules to running samples to the labs. Her commitment to the cause is remarkable and mostly invisible to most.
Phillip Danielson
A tenured professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Phillip Danielson is a integral team member of 快活app鈥檚 COVID Response Team and the innovative leader of saliva COVID testing. 听
鈥淎t the beginning of the pandemic, nasal swabs were the gold standard. I worked to develop a reliable, sensitive, cost-effective and fast saliva PCR test for COVID. The testing process that my lab developed turned out to be as good as the best test from any hospital lab. To date, the Spit Lab alone has processed over 450,000 saliva tests.鈥 听
Outside of 快活app, Danielson enjoys traveling internationally, collecting modern fine art, and loves EDM. He is also a passionate chef who enjoys cooking both classical French as well as modernist/molecular cuisine.
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Student Perspective: Vander Georgeff
Current undergraduate student Vander Georgeff, who studies biochemistry and molecular biology, began his involvement with 快活app鈥檚 COVID response team during the winter interterm of the 2020-2021 school year.
Georgeff says he has 鈥渓earned so much about working in clinical CAP-accredited labs, molecular diagnostics, and life in general.鈥 While COVID may have brought many hardships to the 快活app community, Georgeff is grateful for the opportunities the lab has provided him and is proud of the accomplishments of the COVID team.
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Article Archive 鈥 Looking Back
快活app Expected to Triple COVID-19 Testing for Winter Quarter (2021)
To manage the higher positivity conditions expected in the 2021 winter term, 快活app significantly increased testing frequency for those living and working on campus. Achieving this goal of increased testing was accomplished through the introduction of salivary RT-PCR testing conducted on campus and eventually using an extraction-based approach. The results were a 96.7% sensitivity rate on positive tests and a 100% specificity rate on negative tests.
鈥淲hat this testing strategy does is gives us the ability to have control over our campus and bring down our positivity and maintain it being down no matter what is happening around us,鈥 says Corinne Lengsfeld, senior vice provost of research and graduate education and one of the leaders on the COVID response team. 鈥淭his prepares us for success regardless of what is happening in our surrounding communities.鈥 By the end of winter quarter, the University anticipated having tripled the amount of testing performed in the fall.
Click here to access the newsroom article 鈫
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Contact Tracing
As the University opened in fall 2020, members of the COVID coordinator team learned to use data collected by the contact tracing team to alert exposed community members and mitigate outbreaks, keeping the University鈥檚 positivity levels well below those of the surrounding community.听Contact tracers used course schedules, group organization membership, program of study, and residential living assignments, in addition to wastewater surveillance and event attendance, among other attributes, to trace probable COVID-19 cases.
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Helping Children and Families Thrive During COVID-19
During COVID-19 physical distancing, children, families, mental health experts and the broader community were able to find social support resources thanks to 快活app鈥檚 Graduate School of Professional Psychology, University Libraries and the philanthropists whose generosity has fueled these innovative programs.
鈥淛ust as with everything in this ever-changing environment, we鈥檝e had to pivot a bit鈥搃n a way that I think will make a difference for families stuck at home,鈥 said Michael Levine-Clark, dean of University Libraries.
快活app's Graduate School of Professional Psychology and their Caring for You and Baby clinic team succeeded in turning previously in-person writing, art, and author reading events to online weekly programming for families. These events succeeded in providing opportunities to keep little kids engaged and learning and a sense of a weekly routine.
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快活app's Partnership with National Jewish Health
In July 2020, the University reached out to National Jewish Health, a not-for-profit academic health center and the #1 ranked respiratory hospital in the U.S. After an in-depth review process, we selected NJH to serve as our strategic partner as we developed, refined and delivered monitoring, testing, isolation, and quarantine, and contact tracing protocols for the 快活app campus for the academic year 2020-21.
In January 2021, as 快活app began daily testing via saliva sample RT-PCR, the NJH provided site visits and helped maintain the highest standards of testing for all on-campus antigen and saliva PCR testing.
Ultimately, NJH helped support 快活app with expertise that was broad and well-aligned to our needs. They consulted on a full range of protocols, including quarantine and isolation, vaccination, residence halls, dining, scenario planning and testing schedule and requirements. We are proud to have National Jewish Health as our partner in guiding us through the COVID-19 pandemic.
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How COVID-19 Impacted Society
快活app Researchers Study the Impact of Long COVID
Working with many individuals who have experienced the long COVID phenomenon, 快活app's professors have launched testing and research to study the long-term neurological effects and figure out what can be done to minimize the duration and intensity of the side effects of those experiencing long COVID.
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COVID-19 Concussion Research Study
The Linseman Lab at the 快活app鈥檚 Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging would like to invite 快活app faculty, staff, students and community members to participate in a research study about the long-term brain health effects of COVID-19 in individuals with and without a history of brain trauma (concussion). This study investigates how COVID-19 might impact the health of your brain over a period of five years.
This study is completely voluntary. Individuals who are interested in participating in the study can
For any questions or concerns, please contact the study coordinator, Allison Grossberg, at allison.grossberg@du.edu.
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STAT Conference Recap From the Past Two Years
As universities pivoted to provide safe access to higher education in a world with continued closures and shut-downs due to COVID, 快活app created the STAT conference--Seeking Tomorrow鈥檚 Answers Together.
This conference, held in January 2021, was an opportunity to promote 快活app鈥檚 leadership, innovation and research prowess, using 快活app鈥檚 5 Strategic Imperatives as a foundation and unifying element for content and deliverables. Learn more about 快活app's 5 strategic imperatives here.
快活app hosted guests and participants from around the world for a virtual half-day conference exploring the ways in which institutions, researchers and academics pivoted in real time to respond to the unprecedented challenges of the day.
In 2022, 快活app held the second annual STAT conference to again bring together thought leaders and experts from across the nation to discuss the impacts of the coronavirus on all aspects of modern life. 快活app continues its vision and goals to continue to build upon how 快活app can help contribute to the public good and accelerate the ways research can be used to address society鈥檚 most pressing problems through 快活app's Impact2025 campaign.
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Throughout the changes that COVID-19 brought to students, faculty, staff and community members of 快活app, we have always found ways to prevail.
Among many initiatives and programs that 快活app has introduced and participated in, here are some numbers showing the impact the 快活app community had during the
pandemic.
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COVID By the Numbers
Number of Spit Tests collected and tested as of Oct. 10, 2022:
527,189
Number of students employed by the 快活app spit labs:
200+
Number of meals served to students in quarantine:
11,300 isolation meals
2650 quarantine meals
Number of students who successfully graduated from 快活app during the 2020-2022 COVID timeframe:
Law: 588
Graduate (master's and doctoral): 6,598
Undergraduate: 3,640
Number of masks given away to the 快活app community:
Cotton 快活app Logo Face Masks 15,000
Disposable Standard Face Masks 427,000
High Efficiency KN95/N95 Masks 12,040
Total 454,040
Number of faculty/staff town halls held:
100+
Number of COVID email responses sent since January 2022:
7,093
Number of Lives Saved:
Countless