Health, Safety and Wellness

Health, Safety and Wellness

GOALS

Ensure the health, safety and well-being of students, staff and faculty. Mitigate the risk that students, staff and faculty will be a conduit for community spread of the virus.

Our CRT is doing everything we can to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our students, staff and faculty. Our goal is to mitigate the risk that students, staff and faculty will be a conduit for community spread of the virus, while allowing the safe return of students to SEU’s learning environments.

PREVENTION

To reduce the spread of COVID-19, the SEU community will be following CDC guidelines. This includes hygiene and respiratory etiquette. Community members are encouraged to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, hand sanitizer can also be used. When coughing or sneezing, it is encouraged for individuals to use tissues or the inside of their elbows.

The CDC also highly recommends the use of cloth face coverings or masks. These should be used especially when physical distancing is difficult.

Another essential step in preventing the spread of COVID-19 is staying at home, in the dorm room or self isolating when an individual is feeling unwell with symptoms of the virus. These symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or running nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea.

TRAINING AND COMMUNICATION

The CRT will provide scientifically sound training and communication to the SEU community on how to be Healthy Citizens. Extensive health and safety training is essential for the campus community. Components of training will address COVID-19 risk factors and protective behaviors along with specific campus policies and procedures (symptom monitoring, hygiene practices, physical distancing, testing, isolation, and quarantine procedures).

Additionally the implementation of signage regarding hygiene practices, room/building capacity, distancing, masks and other public health measures will be in place throughout the campus.

MASKS

SEU community members and visitors are expected to wear masks when physical distancing is not possible (at least 6 feet), particularly in indoor communal areas. Students, faculty and staff are not permitted to wear masks that are disruptive, offensive or promote illegal drug use. This includes, but not limited to, the use of profanity, inappropriate content (lettering, images, graphics, etc.) or any values that are contrary to the community covenant.

CLEANING AND SANITIZATION OF CAMPUS

Prior to the return of students, the campus will be disinfected and certain areas will remain closed until the start of the semester to establish a sanitary baseline prior to reopening. Plans are in place to ensure the campus engages in ongoing cleaning and disinfection measures consistent with current CDC and EPA

guidance. This includes increased cleaning and disinfection of high-touch surfaces like door handles. Engineering controls, such as high efficiency air filters and sneeze/cough barriers, have been installed in critical areas. Hand sanitizing dispensers will be placed outside of all classrooms and in high traffic areas.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING MEASURES

Where applicable, common spaces in buildings will be reconfigured to account for physical distancing. Signage will also be employed to promote physical distancing. Ground markings, signs and physical barriers will be utilized to avoid areas of congestion. Maximum occupancy will be posted in classrooms and other common areas.

SYMPTOM MONITORING, TESTING & CONTACT TRACING

The CRT has worked with the local health department to determine best practices for the university to adopt in regard to symptom monitoring, testing and contact tracing.

At this point, SEU community members are not required to be tested for COVID-19 prior to returning to campus. However, community members are expected to monitor their health and to follow CDC guidelines and to stay within their residence if they feel unwell.

A system has been developed to self screen temperatures and check symptoms of students, staff and faculty. This will be recorded in an SEU internal tracking system. Visitors and employees without access to the tracking system will use checkpoints on campus.

Plans have been developed to contact trace students through both classrooms, residence halls and Tuscana Ristorante. Classrooms will have seating charts and residence halls will be restricted to students who live in the respective building. This will aid in working with the local health department for contact tracing should there be an infection on campus and minimize the number of students who may be exposed and/or required to isolate.

Consideration is being given to routinely testing athletes as a subgroup. Also discussions are underway about a partnership with Lakeland Regional Health (LRH) to run the campus clinic.

LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT

The university has developed points of contact with local public health officials and local healthcare centers in order to communicate, coordinate and execute plans to help mitigate the risk of a community outbreak. The university has also been working in collaboration with local hospitals.

VENTILATION

In many of our campus HVAC systems, we have installed UV Lighting, which has been proven to kill mold spores and other microorganisms. We have also installed air ionizers to improve the air quality of our campus facilities and classrooms. We will be using state-of-the-art sterilizing fogging machines along with industrial antiviral solutions throughout the campus.

WATER SYSTEMS

All water fountains are cleaned daily with sterilizing wipes. SEU community members are encouraged to use the contactless water dispensers on campus.

CAMPUS HEALTH SERVICES

University health services are being upgraded with additional exam rooms, expanded services and increased staffing. Partnerships have been established with local healthcare providers to provide testing for students.