College

College of Health Sciences

Department

Community & Environ Health

Program

Public Health

Publication Date

4-2021

DOI

10.25883/x7me-st69

Abstract

Due to the COVID19 pandemic, the school system in United Stated has been struggling to reopen the campus at full capacity and keep students safe. Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, currently faces the COVID-19 pandemic with virtual classes, meetings, student engagement, and keeping on-campus students safe. With weekly testing offered at the dorms, on-campus students can contract COVID and become positive. In the Hampton Roads area, the Norfolk positivity rate for COVID is 15.7% as of February 1st. To combat and contain COVID for on-campus and returning students, ODU created the COVID Care Team who assist students and departments to operate safely in time of COVID19 positive student. With this team's creation, ODU was ranked as one of the safest campuses during this pandemic throughout all Virginia colleges. The COVID Care Team has strategically developed a plan, delegated tasks, and responsibilities to multiple departments on campus, including the Environmental Health and Safety, Transportation and Parking, and Dean of Students. The three departments have created intricate steps to ease the transition process: safely pick-up students and their close contacts, place them in designated dorm buildings for quarantine or isolation, assemble care packages, contact their professors on their behalf, return students to their dorms after testing negative. This research paper aims to explore ways to assist the three departments in keeping on-campus students safe by creating standard operating procedures and visual educational material. The SOP will help ODU employees to adhere to the same guidelines and minimize the spread. Visual Education aid will help students remind safety precaution steps to keep them safe.

Disciplines

Higher Education | Public Health

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Maximizing Health and Safety and Reducing COVID Transmission at Old Dominion University with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Approach


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