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. 2022 Oct;16(5):1901-1909.
doi: 10.1017/dmp.2021.69. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Sustaining University Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Benjamin J Ryan  1 , Michael P Muehlenbein  2 , Jon Allen  3 , Joshua Been  4 , Kenneth Boyd  5 , Mark Brickhouse  6 , Bryan W Brooks  1 , Matthew Burchett  7 , C Kevin Chambliss  8 , Jason D Cook  9 , Adam Ecklund  10 , Lori Fogleman  11 , Peter Granick  12 , Sharra Hynes  13 , Tonya Hudson  11 , Michelle Huse  14 , Micah Lamb  15 , Tiffany Lowe  13 , Jim Marsh  16 , Niesha Nixon  10 , Dennis Nolan  6 , George Nuñez  17 , Walter Sparky Matthews  18 , Sharon Stern  10 , Meaghann Wheelis  19 , Nancy Brickhouse  20
Affiliations

Sustaining University Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Benjamin J Ryan et al. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Colleges and universities around the world engaged diverse strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Baylor University, a community of ˜22,700 individuals, was 1 of the institutions which resumed and sustained operations. The key strategy was establishment of multidisciplinary teams to develop mitigation strategies and priority areas for action. This population-based team approach along with implementation of a "Swiss Cheese" risk mitigation model allowed small clusters to be rapidly addressed through testing, surveillance, tracing, isolation, and quarantine. These efforts were supported by health protocols including face coverings, social distancing, and compliance monitoring. As a result, activities were sustained from August 1 to December 8, 2020. There were 62,970 COVID-19 tests conducted with 1435 people testing positive for a positivity rate of 2.28%. A total of 1670 COVID-19 cases were identified with 235 self-reports. The mean number of tests per week was 3500 with approximately 80 of these positive (11/d). More than 60 student tracers were trained with over 120 personnel available to contact trace, at a ratio of 1 per 400 university members. The successes and lessons learned provide a framework and pathway for similar institutions to mitigate the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and sustain operations during a global pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; higher education; population-based management; public health; wastewater epidemiology.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Multisectoral systems approach to sustaining operations.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Example of the external Baylor COVID-19 Dashboard.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
COVID-19 new cases by day.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Active COVID-19 cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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