COHP COVID-19 Update: March 23, 2020
Faculty and Staff,
Our college and institution are facing an unprecedented series of events which change daily. The fluidity and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to changes in the way that we deliver academic programs, provide services and conduct the operations within our college. These events have led our college to formulate plans which will allow us to keep open, but the rapidly shifting nature of the pandemic means that our plans need to be very fluid. We had previously announced a plan that permitted on campus planning and some instruction within another week, but that has now changed. As you know, effective tomorrow, Memphis and Knoxville have been issued a 'safer at home' executive order that requires residents to stay home unless they are deemed as having an essential job. The Dean’s office has remained in constant communication with the Offices of the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors as well as our College Chairs as we mount the best strategies for continuing productivity while working remotely. We must remain fluid in our response towards these evolving conditions and to do so, we will be introducing a general policy to address emergencies which will provide a framework for our College to quickly respond to the current disaster and any future emergency. You will also receive soon from Dr. Aziz, the COHP Contingency Plan, which will detail operations and procedures for the college as it pertains to COVID-19. Please remember that this plan is subject to change as we respond to the ever shifting landscape of this pandemic.
As a final reminder, the College of Health Professions and the University is still open for business, but our goal is to minimize the number of employees physically in the office to create a safer work environment.
To reiterate the Chancellor’s recent communication, essential employees include the following:
- Campus Police and security officers
- Critical facilities staff
- Clinical activities conducted with our partner practice plans and hospitals
- Research laboratories but only essential personnel as needed to maintain lab function
- Core research facilities, such as support for experimental animals and vivarium’s, under the guidance of the Office of Research
- Regional Biocontainment Laboratory where COVID-19 research is underway
- The Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery
- Emergency clinics
Most of our college personnel on Memphis and Knoxville campuses are designated as non-essential based on this list, and therefore should work remotely. Occasional visits to campus for emergencies, addressing departmental/programmatic needs and organizing instruction, emergency clinical service and research are currently permitted, but most campus visits should be minimized. Your supervisor will communicate more specific information pertaining to your work assignments and expectations and the portion of your on- and off-campus work.
Our College still has a mission to accomplish and working remotely will not make it easier. However, working together and adhering to the COHP Contingency Plan to maintain operations in our College, while complying with the “safer at home” orders, and social distancing requirements, will allow us to move through this crisis while minimizing exposure risks. Furthermore, working together to overcome this emergency will permit us to be stronger on the other side of this pandemic. Stay tuned as we will continue to change the Contingency Plan to respond to the dynamic nature of COVID-19.
Stephen E. Alway, PhD., FACSM
Dean, College of Health Professions
Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions
Professor, Department of Physiology, College of Medicine
Associate Editor-In-Chief, Exercise and Sports Science Reviews
Associate Editor, PLOS One