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UTHSC COVID-19 Update

April 24, 2020

Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I want to update you on UTHSC plans and actions.

As you are aware, Governor Lee is planning a phased return to normal operations for areas of the state that are not part of the four metro areas. The metro areas will phase their own return to operations. The UTHSC home campus in Memphis is under the Mayor’s shelter at home guideline until May 5 at the earliest. We will announce changes in campus plans following guidance from our metro area government. The Deans of the regional campuses, working with their local partner hospitals, will outline details at their sites for their faculty and staff.

Our plans are unchanged.

 

 

There are six main UTHSC priorities: 

1. Maintain campus infrastructure, function, security, and personnel

  • Our workforce and campus is intact with all non-essential personnel working from home and ready to scale back up and return to campus when safe to do so.
  • Remote delivery of courses and testing is underway and working well, allowing us to keep our coursework on track.
  • The Regional Biocontainment Laboratory and the Plough Center have continued to work full tilt on COVID-19 related research.
  • Our clinical faculty, residents, and fellows on all four campuses go to work every day on the front lines caring for patients.

2. Graduate students on time

  • We are able to graduate the vast majority of our senior class this summer. Details will be provided by the colleges to each student.
  • The College of Dentistry will have their academic year extended to accommodate a needed return to clinical practice for many of their students to reach procedural requirements for graduation.

3. Create a near-term budget

  • We are modeling existing and future potential state reductions to create a functioning budget.
  • There are no increases in tuition for our students next year.

4. Prepare a phased approach to normalcy for the fall semester

  • Our plan is to have a phased return to campus for the fall semester.
  • We expect face-to-face large group lectures to remain online in the fall, transitioning back to in-person as soon as safe to do so.
  • We plan to restart small group sections, labs, and simulation in a social distance and protective equipment appropriate format.
  • We expect to return to clinical rotations, and await guidelines from our accrediting bodies. Some colleges, such as Pharmacy, remained in core clinical rotations.
  • Working groups from each college are working to define a plan to achieve this restart.

5. Prepare research labs to return to near full function using a social distancing format in the summer and fall

  • The wind down to basic ongoing operation was smooth and well done without major problems.
  • We will announce a phased plan to bring the labs back to full function in the near future.
  • Detailed guidance for faculty and graduate students based on this plan will come from the colleges.

6. Assist the state, county, and city in COVID-19 effort

  • UTHSC has been a leader in the fight against COVID-19, including COVID-19 testing, surge hospital management, and advising local and state leaders.
  • UTHSC continues to provide education to the public and health providers about COVID-19.

We will continue to keep you updated as the situation changes.

For more information and resources on COVID-19, please visit uthsc.edu/coronavirus.

Stay safe!

Steve J. Schwab, MD
Chancellor

May 26, 2022