Home Features School Operations Campus Directors Mask-UP/Power-UP! COVID-19 and CARES Act
Campus Directors Mask-UP/Power-UP! COVID-19 and CARES Act

Campus Directors Mask-UP/Power-UP! COVID-19 and CARES Act

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By Cindy R. Chamberlain, Content Specialist, Gurnick Academy

Introduction

On Friday, March 20, 2020, Americans anxiously turned to their televisions, radios, and cellphones, to hear California Governor Gavin Newsom give an order for 40 million Californians to shelter-in-place – forcing all but “essential workers” or those seeking critical services to stay home.1

Overnight, Gurnick campus directors were challenged to find new ways of delivering education in a safe environment. Rather than instruct face-to-face, program directors needed to create both an online teaching environment and virtual lab in conjunction with a safe and thoughtful in-person competency evaluation back at the campus. It was uncharted territory for the educational sector at large, let alone for the campus directors, staff, and faculty.

The world shut down; Gurnick remained ‘open’

Campus Director Karen Hobson, of Gurnick’s Fresno Campus, never believed Fresno County would be part of a shutdown. She saw the Bay Area affected but thought it would not reach her campus. When she received the shelter-in-place order, she immediately bought bagels and coffee and called a staff meeting.

“I don’t know what everyone else did, but we responded as a team – and put our heads together,” said Hobson.

Hobson’s department directors organized a COVID-19 Response Taskforce, led by Dean of Nursing Samantha Manlosa Sanchez. Sanchez launched a detailed Preparation Plan for Academics-COVID-19, activating the campuses’ Emergency Response Plan (ERP), and deploying virtual simulations.

That was March 18. “My staff and I ‘played’ Google Hangouts until we got it,” said Hobson of the various comfort levels of her staff with technology. “It was fast, quick, and in a hurry!” said Hobson. “We had two days to get a plan. Everyone had to be up on RingCentral (VOIP).” Simultaneously, Hobson was also overseeing a campus building project, completing new hires, and finalizing campus admissions. “The time was full of problem solving and multitasking,” she said.

Similar roadmaps to Sanchez’ Preparation Plan for Academics, were duplicated in hybrid teaching conversions across all programs and campuses seeking to deliver similar objectives:

  • Academic preparedness, by transitioning residential curriculum instruction to remote delivery.
  • Provide the necessary training and support to educators and learners in all aspects of the transition, from technical to emotional support.
  • Promote a culture of support and anticipatory guidance to mitigate challenges.
  • Develop a practice of creating contingency plans to enhance future emergency responses.2

“The concern,” said Sanchez, “was the period of adjustment and level of adaptability from the instructors and students as they went through the stages of coping during this difficult time. A COVID-19 presentation was required for all students and faculty to complete, and Infection Control Training from The World Health Organization. Mental health was also a priority during this period,” Sanchez added.

In addition to Hobson, campus directors Abraham Cicchetti, Sacramento; James Murrell, Van Nuys; Dr. Gari Hakobov/Joe Kheuasida (assistant) Concord; Fred Faridian, San Mateo; and Tu Nguyen, Modesto, had to determine how to respond to the challenges of COVID-19 and Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act implementations.

Challenge one: How to get students and staff off-campus? Then, how to keep those off-campus productive?

“The pandemic required us to deliver education to our students in meaningful and accredited ways [by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools and the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education],” said Burke Malin, Gurnick’s chief operating officer. “But what distance learning meant was, we also needed to retool and accommodate our campus staff to be productive from home, avoiding potential layoffs or furloughs. That meant the equipment needed by the instructors and staff had to be moved from the classroom to online work environments at home.”

On March 27, the CARES Act was passed by Congress and signed into effect by President Donald Trump. The bill allotted $2.2 trillion for fast, direct economic aid to Americans – negatively impacted by COVID-19. Of that, $14 billion was earmarked for the Office of Postsecondary Education as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Another $30.75 billion was earmarked for the Education Stabilization Fund. Provided it was used for: (1) significantly-impacted educational agencies; (2) institutions of higher education and; (3) any education-related entity deemed essential for carrying educational services.3

This necessitated an immediate and remote rollout by Gurnick Academy campus directors from all six campus locations. There was a complete pivot of operations for virtual public meetings, requiring investments in virtual simulators for lab environments and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for every student – all needing to be implemented for virtual deliveries.

Gurnick’s corporate Marketing director, Nicholas Colombo, created virtual tours for prospective students to visit campuses remotely.

Adaptations were made to campus systems, including installing new cameras, inserting additional video monitors, and purchasing audio and video aides. Additionally, Gurnick swapped out traditional desk computers with mobile laptops, creating and indexing VPN numbers, and securing new and former devices – all the while reanalyzing everything for accessibility, as even front-desk representatives had to go virtual or remote.

“We probably spent over 200 hours of executive time just trying to establish a program that would be equitable and compliant with all the government rules,” said Malin. “Our financial-aid and accounting departments easily spent triple that amount of time administering the [CARES’ Act] program on top of their regular duties.”

Challenge two: How to keep students socially distanced? How to ensure students followed county, state, and Gurnick Academy healthcare protocols and procedures?

The onset of Coronavirus brought shortages everywhere. For campus directors, acquiring the necessary PPE for their campuses was challenging. It was difficult to procure suitable protective masks and sanitizing products. Staff also had to rearrange lab schedules to observe county, state, and Gurnick Academy regulations that were continually changing. Malin says regulatory mandates came down with absolutes, yet little oversight or suggestions of how to implement. All campus directors wrestled with (what they say was/is the most challenging part of COVID-19 for them) making sure social distancing was appropriately followed (including enough classroom/office space) and that check-ins were done accurately every time. “All these things are important, and nobody ever experienced this in the educational sector before,” said Hobson.

Kheuasida, Concord campus assistant director, agreed, “Keeping that separation but still keeping a community – having the mindset to keep everyone together as a team takes more effort and labor because of all the check-ins. Because people try to come together. We act normal, but things are still not normal.”

“We didn’t get touchless devices or plexiglass,” said Murrell, Van Nuys campus director. “Our CARES Act money went to things like cameras to help with learning methods. We also bought a lot of PPE, bleach, disinfectants, and paid for extra janitorial staff.”

For a time, there was a problem with campus screening. Murrell came up with a solution, which was soon duplicated elsewhere. When students checked into Van Nuys’ campus and answered COVID-19 questionnaires, students were provided stickers. But the stickers were so small, one could not see if the passersby were cleared until well past the 6 ft. social distance – potentially within an exposing range. Murrell said he realized this when two interlopers fell across his path. He immediately began implementing a color wristband system, allowing fellow students to see one another from a long way off–further down the hall. The wristband colors were changed daily by alternating colors to enforce daily screens – which aided in social-distancing processes.

Challenge three: How to accommodate labs, clinicals, and externships?

“Transitioning the clinical instruction to remote delivery was the top priority,” said Sanchez. “The clinical component of the curriculum requires adherence to the BVNPT and BRN regulatory guidelines of a smaller ratio for instructors and students. The lecture delivery was easier as it calls for one instructor to deliver the instructions to the classroom. Shelvia Salvano [BSN Assistant Program Director] and Venessa Cacacho [director of Online Nursing Programs] were taskforce leaders for the clinical practice who trained the instructors with the remote delivery of clinical simulation instructions and issued certificates of completion to the nursing instructors on all campuses with nursing programs.”

Sanchez added, “The only challenge we experienced was at the beginning of the transition, moving the clinical instructors to the comfort zone of the remote simulation delivery’s technical aspect. The Google Hangout platform has helped ease introducing and training the instructors for this transition.”

Overall, some clinical externships had to be postponed. However, for some campuses like San Mateo, Sacramento, and Concord, COVID-19 brought opportunities to those areas.

On Friday, April 17, the San Mateo County Health Department reached out to Faridian, San Mateo campus director, and requested aid for a county-deployed taskforce to help at a Redwood City residential-care facility. More than 20 Vocational Nurse and Medical Assistant students responded, mitigating a staffing shortage. By filling vacancies, students freed emergency personnel to concentrate on the areas of greatest need. (If a tech is exposed to COVID-19 onsite, they must go into quarantine. This can lead to a staffing deficit in available healthcare providers. Students were able to supplement this loss regularly.)

Faridian said faculty gave students options within their various comfort levels. Yet, students returned to sites where seasoned, professional, healthcare personnel had walked out. Consequently, San Mateo’s campus was deemed essential as county officials corresponded regularly with campus leadership. Even San Mateo Mayor Joe Goethals defended the students’ work. “Our students worked with world-class medical persons,” said Faridian. “I am proud of them.”

Students understood the inherent risks but wished to do their part. Campus directors firmly supported their efforts. Cicchetti, Sacramento campus director, had the objective to utilize funding so students could be classified as essential workers by the governor. In all, 90% of Sacramento campus faculty and staff worked through the first phase of the pandemic, with as many as possible staying onsite to maintain a centralized student volunteer hub. Volunteerism made up nearly 25% of the student body and represented Imaging (X-ray, MRI, MA) and Sonography (MRI, MA, UT, RT). “Staff and faculty weren’t putting their needs ahead of others; instead, they were keeping the rotations alive to cover students so the students could stay active at sites,” said Cicchetti.

However, at the start of their work, there was a scarcity of masks. How to get them directly into the hands of the students? “I was grabbing the masks from the stores and running out of PPEs,” said Cicchetti. “Students needed their own PPE gear, otherwise how were they to go out and help?”

Cicchetti saw value in asking paint stores to put masks away and hold them for Sacramento and Concord campus students. Christy Foster Bollman, executive director for the A.S. in Radiologic Technology program, combed the Sacramento region as well. Finally, enough PPE was secured. After students underwent fit testing by vendors, they quickly and didactically pivoted into U.C. Davis, Sutter, and Dignity Health sites.

“I feel very fortunate to have been on the frontlines with amazing technologists during this pandemic,” said Meagan McGrew, a second-year student in Sacramento’s Radiologic Technology program.

“While some schools had to shut down, Gurnick Academy did everything in their power to make sure their students were still getting the quality experience and schooling we needed to thrive. It’s because of them that I feel more prepared to go out into the field and have the tools I need to succeed.” McGrew continued, “I do feel that our teachers are doing an amazing job and doing the best they can. They are always there for us when we need it, whether it’s checking in with us via Google Meets or scheduling one-on-one in-person meetings that comply with COVID-19 protocols.”

“They [the students] were brave in general and just wanted to do what they could to support the pandemic,” said Cicchetti. “Just having the opportunity to lend that support will stick with them forever. Everyone has done well pivoting, and they had the opportunity to learn through the pandemic. That’s a hybrid lab.”

Challenge Four: How to overcome staff, faculty, and students’ fears of exposure?

All campus directors have followed county capacity ordinances, with Concord and other campuses still under 30 percent capacity. Throughout, most directors have settled for a hybrid in part, erring for the lowest volume of people at a time. Campus directors all echo that, at first, a portion of their populations did not feel safe returning. Directors worked overtime putting minds to rest.

“We overcame [students’ fears] this through ongoing communication, timely responses, and establishing a solid protocol for returning to campus,” said one campus director. Another said, handwashing stations, physical distancing, mandated masks, temperature/symptom checks for all students and employees, COVID19-specific cleaning guidelines, mask mandates and procedures, with hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes available throughout each campus.

Another campus director said, “We accomplished this by creating a solid Return to Campus plan as well as utilizing the website to keep staff, faculty, and students informed of updates.”

“When they came back, we communicated that we did a lot of disinfecting, along with putting in place social measures. Communicating and checking in periodically with them makes them feel comfortable,” said Kheuasida.

“A large part of easing student and staff minds was letting students know we took the protocols very seriously,” said Murrell. “Communicating that we were keeping students with temperatures out, reducing classrooms down to half with approximately ten (10) students per room, etc. When our population realized it was not just lip-service, they were okay.”

Summary

  • Looking back – Hobson said she loved the challenge but hated the COVID-19.
  • Looking now – Murrell said, “As a campus, we are very committed to keeping students and faculty safe, and we are accomplishing that goal.”
  • Looking forward – one campus leader said, “We will conquer the unthinkable challenges this pandemic will bring. Together, we soldier on and will not rest until this virus is defeated. Our relentless efforts as a team will continue, as we serve our students, educators, and the community.”

Author’s Note: Beyond the call of duty, beyond the call of COVID – Gurnick Academy appears to be CARES-Strong!

Shelter in Place survey

Works Cited:

  1. Hoeven, Emily. 2020. “All Californians Ordered to Shelter in Place.” CalMatters. CalMatters. March 20, 2020. https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2020/03/california-coronavirus-homeless/.
  2. Manlosa Sanchez, Samantha. 2020. “Preparation Plan for Academics – COVID-19.” Fresno, CA.
  3. Unknown. 2020. “The CARES Act Works for All Americans.” U.S. Department of Treasury. United States Government. March 28, 2020. https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares.

Cindy Chamberlin

CINDY R. CHAMBERLIN is a communication specialist with Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts. She has over 13 years’ experience as a published journalist within non-profit organizations, crafting words into all media, including writing for live television, magazine features, and news articles. She also has three years’ experience in crisis containment and organizational brand management. She and her pastor husband reside in Central California.


Contact Information: Cindy R. Chamberlain // Content Specialist // Gurnick Academy // 559-495-9246 // cchamberlin@gurnick.edu // gurnick.edu // https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-chamberlin-4649b232/

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