Figuring out how the university should deal with the COVID-19 pandemic the past few semesters fell on the shoulders of everybody at CMU. However, COVID Command was one of the driving factors in the response.
Dr. Amy Bronson, Emma Leenerman and Michael Hughes are the people behind COVID Command. They handle things from contact tracing to setting up testing to vaccine management.
“I think if you look at what we built with our Safe Together Strong Together plan – I would point back to last year, because this is really the learnings of last year and the infrastructure that was built last year, that we’re just leaning into what that’s going to look like in the fall,” Dr. Bronson said.
The head of COVID Command, Dr. Bronson also leads the Physician Assistant program at CMU.
“We are the interface,” Dr. Bronson said about the team. “We’re those that interact with the external and internal advisory board team, and make recommendations around the safety protocols and implementation on campus.”
Leenerman is the COVID-19 Coordinator, and manages the logistics of the testing center and vaccine management. She holds a university management position in addition to her role on the COVID Command.
“I’ve worked here since I graduated in 2015,” Leenerman said. “I’ve been in this role as Coordinator of Alumni Engagement [and Campus Engagement], this is going to be my fifth year.“
A new testing site has been opened next to the Student Wellness Center, which replaces the previous drive-through center near the Fine Arts building last semester.
“We have three different kinds of tests right now: two PCR tests, and then a rapid nasal swab test,” Leenerman said. “The student receives the results about an hour after, and then the other tests are 24 to 48 hours depending on which one you get.”
When testing first started, they were doing nasal swab tests, but as things changed they expanded their test options. The nasal swabs were sent to a lab in Houston, while the newer saliva tests are processed in Loveland. The new rapid tests can be processed at the test site, which can give results in as quick as 20 minutes, available within an hour for the students.
Hughes is the Lead Contact Tracer, and helps manage the policies that the university uses to identify and isolate positive cases. He also graduated from CMU and has been working here since 2009, and has served a variety of roles, including his current role of Assistant Director of Campus Recreation.
CMU has their own contact tracing team that is overseen by the county. When a student is found to have a positive case that lives on campus, they’re sent to Pinyon Hall to isolate. Off-campus positives are advised to isolate in their house. On-campus students are provided food, with the help of ResLife.
“For those that live on campus, we usually will talk with the coordinator on duty, so that they are aware of that isolating student and get them in that room, and then Resident Life actually plays a big key role in this, where they will get that person in the room, get them moved and then provide them food,” Leenerman said. “The big things are we’re trying to keep our students safe and healthy, and as much as we can and Resident Life plays a really key role in.”
As the campus moves into the Fall 2021 semester, the Safe Together, Strong Together university program moves to Phase 5: Educate, Engage, Empower.
“I think both of our roles rely a lot on being able to do regular things on campus. We host a lot of events with alumni and large-scale events that couldn’t happen last year, so we had the time to put into this,” Leenerman said.
For updated COVID-19 protocols, see page 1.
