{"id":76003,"date":"2021-02-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-honors-community-members-who-add-work-at-covid-19-testing-centers-to-their-regular-duties\/"},"modified":"2021-02-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T00:00:00","slug":"uri-honors-community-members-who-add-work-at-covid-19-testing-centers-to-their-regular-duties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2021\/02\/uri-honors-community-members-who-add-work-at-covid-19-testing-centers-to-their-regular-duties\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 honors community members who add work at COVID-19 testing centers to their regular duties"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — Feb. 22, 2021 — As hundreds of 溏心vlog免费B站 students lined up Wednesday (Feb. 17)\u00a0 around lunchtime to get their COVID-19 surveillance tests, they probably wondered what all the fuss was about.<\/p>\n

Balloons were strewn around the Memorial Union Atrium, and cookies and Keaney Blue Health Services water bottles were offered to students and those working at the testing center.<\/p>\n

The fuss was a celebration of University employees who have added to their regular job duties to work at the testing center, and a chance to mark the 100,000th COVID-19 test administered by the University.<\/p>\n

While the testing centers in the Union and at temporary sites set up for fall and spring move-in have been run by University Health Services and Emergency Management, the University could never have built such a robust testing program without employees who volunteered at the centers in addition to doing their regular jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what happens when everyone works together for the good of our students and the entire community,\u201d said Ellen Reynolds, assistant vice president of Health and Wellness and director of Health Services, as she strung balloons around the atrium.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Hodshon, associate director of Health Services and operations section chief for COVID-19 testing at the University, said she organized the celebration to honor the commitment of so many 溏心vlog免费B站 employees to the health and safety of their community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur people have shown that they care deeply about our students and their ability to remain on campus for classes and other activities,\u201d Hodshon said. \u201cIn all kinds of weather they have made their way to our testing sites at the Union, the Ryan Center parking lot and Keaney Gymnasium. And they greet everyone, students, faculty and staff,\u00a0 with a smile and reassuring words. The University is fortunate to have such selfless individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiverton<\/strong> resident Jack Zmich, a chemical engineering major with a pharmaceutical track, finished his test Wednesday, and was surprised when cheers broke out around him. Health Services staff members smiled and walked over to him, offering him cookies and a water bottle, and asked him to pose for a picture. He was the recipient of the 100,000th test.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been managed perfectly,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to have an on-campus testing site, where you don\u2019t have to wait to schedule a test. You can just show up. I am a big believer in all of the health guidelines, participating in frequent testing, wearing a mask and physical distancing. I get really frustrated when I see people without masks. If we follow the guidance, we can control this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tracey<\/a>
Pharmacy student Tracey Kim is all smiles behind her mask as she talks about the well run and welcoming COVID-19 surveillance testing site at the Memorial Union. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Nora Lewis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tracey Kim, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Scottsdale, Arizona, <\/strong>was all smiles after receiving a Keaney Blue Health Services water bottle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very efficient operation, and getting a test is a good way to prevent the spread of COVID-19,\u201d Kim said. \u201cPlus scheduling appointments through e-Campus makes it easy to remember to get tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the 溏心vlog免费B站 employees who are volunteering at the center, Kim said it shows that they understand the extent of the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are willing to put in the extra time to make sure we stay safe,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThis engagement helps them relate to us and us to them.<\/p>\n

James Morris, head equipment manager for the Department of Athletics, said the testing effort has been fantastic for all students and particularly important for student-athletes.<\/p>\n

\"Senior<\/a>
Senior nursing major Abby Canning is one of many students who received COVID-19 surveillance tests last Wednesday. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Nora Lewis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur student-athletes want to compete and train, and these frequent testing opportunities give them a great sense of security,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can get tested three to four times a week. We can\u2019t thank the volunteers enough for what they are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abby Canning, a senior nursing major from Suffield, Connecticut<\/strong>, said she appreciates being able to get a test at any time through the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that all students are required to get tested helps keep all<\/p>\n

\"Graduate<\/a>
Graduate student Caroline Eastus talks about her experience at the Memorial Union testing center. 溏心vlog免费B站 photo by Nora Lewis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

of us safer,\u201d she said. \u201cIt alleviates stress, and it\u2019s nice that all of the volunteers are in a good mood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Master\u2019s degree student in exercise science Caroline Eastus of Redding, Connecticut<\/strong>, said the process of getting tested is a pleasant experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think because it is so well organized, students are largely compliant with the requirement to get tested every other week. It\u2019s also great that off-campus students are also included in mandatory testing. I think this is reassuring for faculty members and local residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eyes of Dr. Christopher Nasin, medical director of Health Services, twinkled as he smiled behind his mask.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extraordinary to think that our daily testing throughput is around 2,000 tests,\u201d Nasin said. \u201cIf we said last semester that we would be doing 2,000 tests a day, people would have looked at us like we had two heads.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the muscle memory we built during the fall semester led us to where we are today,\u201d 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s top doc said. \u201cThe kind of teamwork evident here and across the University is what makes things happen. If there is a silver lining in all of this, it\u2019s that people from every corner of the University came together to make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. — Feb. 22, 2021 — As hundreds of 溏心vlog免费B站 students lined up Wednesday (Feb. 17)\u00a0 around lunchtime to get their COVID-19 surveillance tests, they probably wondered what all the fuss was about. Balloons were strewn around the Memorial Union Atrium, and cookies and Keaney Blue Health Services water bottles were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}