Our Commitment to Your Safety, 7-16-20

These past months have required a lot from all of us, personally and professionally, and we aren’t out of the woods yet. I want to thank you for your patience and flexibility as we have navigated what the COVID-19 pandemic has meant for campus operations and return to campus protocols. 

We’d like to thank those who have made return to campus activity possible thus far. Our COVID officials have thoughtfully overseen activity in their labs and workspaces, volunteer staff members have generously given of their time to screen people at our check-in locations, and our facilities, housekeeping and operations staff members have worked night and day to keep our buildings and common spaces clean and safe. We are grateful for their service, and their hard work to get us to this point. On Monday, a new group of student workers will begin staffing the four campus check-in locations, reviewing daily health questionnaire confirmations, taking temperatures and handing out wristbands. I hope everyone in our community will welcome them to their roles with respect and gratitude. 

We are also grateful to those approved for on-campus activity who have helped the screening procedures and safety protocols in place go smoothly. You are positioning us well for continued return. Those working and learning remotely have contributed immensely to our ability to ensure a safe, measured return, and we appreciate your adaptability and dedication.

Some may wonder why we continue to require the robust safety protocols and entry screening processes that are currently in place on campus, and I want to assure you that our decisions have been made with your safety and health top of mind. We have at all times been guided by the best science and data available, including our own experts, and assessed the changing circumstances continually with an eye to keeping you healthy. We have made decisions that fit our specific mission, while closely following best practices and public health orders intended to identify cases of COVID-19 as early as possible and prevent the disease’s spread.

If our required training, daily health questionnaire or temperature checks enable us to protect even one member of our community from illness or death, then they will have been worth it. Indeed, these measures have proven effective in identifying potential symptoms and consulting confidentially on appropriate care. We know with certainty that mask wearing, physical distancing, and good personal and area hygiene are essential to slowing the spread of COVID-19, and we will insist upon those measures unless and until the science and the data tell us otherwise. 

Your adherence to the protocols in place has truly made a difference, and it is your continued cooperation that will enable our campus community to avoid an outbreak and another potential shutdown. 

We know this is a work in progress and that this situation continues to evolve. We also know we need your help to get through this together. Please do your part to keep the CU Anschutz Medical Campus community moving forward. 

Should you have questions or concerns, you may submit those on the return to campus webpage, and we will get back to you.

Sincerely,

Don Elliman

Chancellor