On March 9, 2020, Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) announced that three Ohioans tested positive for COVID-19. Gov. DeWine also declared a state of emergency for Ohio. Upon consultation with health care professionals, the Governor has recommended that all Ohio public colleges and universities move to online instruction as soon as possible until the major concerns have passed. All 14 public universities are taking action. The Governor’s recommendations are designed to engage the public in actions that can increase our preparedness and slow down the spread of COVID-19.
The safety and well-being of NEOMED’s students, faculty and staff is our top priority.
A campus-wide message sent by President Langell Tuesday, March 10, outlined learning, teaching and working practices that will be in effect from today, March 11, through Friday, April 3.
Communications to faculty, staff and students providing further details on classroom instruction, clinical activities, exams, clerkships and business operations are being emailed to the campus community as more information becomes available. Please ensure that you read your emails daily for updates.
Stay home if you are ill (including symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection such as fever, cough or shortness of breath). If you are experiencing signs or have come into contact with an infected individual, please call your health care provider or the emergency room before visiting.
Learning and teaching
- We will suspend face-to-face instruction in lectures, discussion sections, seminars and other classroom settings and move to virtual instruction with a few exceptions such as the fourth-year small group capstone electives. Instruction may range from previously recorded lectures to Zoom. Resources can be found by visiting neomed.edu/continuity.
- Per the recommendation of the AAMC, all clinical rotations will continue, as our students are a critical part of the patient care team. All rules and policies around use of personal protective equipment and exposure control will be at the discretion of the hospital system.
- There may be a need to conduct student testing on campus. If this is the case, the individual colleges will reach out to the students to provide guidance.
Working
The University will remain open for business other than conducting face-to-face education. Faculty and staff will report to work as usual until further notice. Most resources on campus are cloud-based and can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet. For those needing access to campus shared files (Staff, Project), Internet Native Banner, or other service not in the cloud, VPN access is available. If you need VPN access, please create a TeamDynamix request by clicking on the “Help Desk Ticket or Knowledge Base” located on the NEOMED Intranet page.
Travel, screening and self-reporting
Effective immediately and until further notice, all university-related international travel is prohibited. University-related domestic travel of any kind is limited to mission-critical travel and must be approved by a University dean or vice president.
Events cancelled
University events scheduled on campus through April 3 are cancelled to avoid creating large gatherings. We will continue to evaluate events and will share plans if any changes occur prior to April 3.
Resources
To ensure that we can keep learning, teaching and working, all resources that enable online access and instruction to take place will be made available at neomed.edu/continuity. More information will continue to be added.
For more information on COVID-19, call the ODH hotline at 833-4ASKODH (833.427.5634).
Please visit neomed.edu/coronavirus for the latest updates.