Message to the Division of Health Sciences
The colleges and schools of East Carolina University’s Division of Health Sciences have spent the last several weeks closely monitoring the situation involving the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and preparing for the likelihood that it will impact the communities we serve across North Carolina.
While the situation continues to evolve on a daily – sometimes hourly – basis, we are working diligently to take the necessary steps to keep our students, employees and patients safe, while still meeting the specific academic requirements for all of our programs and caring for the patients who depend on ECU for their health care.
Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson announced earlier this week that spring break will be extended through March 20 and that effective Monday, March 23 the university will transition to a system of telework (when possible) and alternate course delivery – such as online, video or email-based instruction – until further notice. The division will observe those guidelines as much as possible, and specific instructions will be communicated from your respective schools and programs in the coming days.
Preparations are being made for the complete transition of our non-clinical instruction to alternate course delivery by March 23. For researchers in labs, please adhere to the university’s extended spring break and telework guidelines to the extent possible. If for some reason you need to visit your lab, please take the necessary safety precautions, such as washing your hands regularly and practicing social distancing.
FACULTY/STAFF RESOURCES
For information on the changes affecting academic affairs at ECU, recent messages from campus leadership and various resources, please visit the Faculty/Staff Resources page.
If you are experiencing a fever, cough and/or shortness of breath, do not come to work and contact your health care provider instead. Student Health Services will remain open on both campuses and ECU Physicians patients can call 252-744-1111 for instructions. If you have recently traveled to an area affected by COVID-19 or believe that you might have been exposed to the coronavirus, but are asymptomatic, contact ECU’s Office of Prospective Health at 252-744-2070 for further guidance.
For our clinical students and clinical faculty, our mission will continue largely uninterrupted as we will mitigate the risks to our students in their clinical experiences through integrating appropriate patient triage protocols and limiting their exposure to high-risk patients.
More information will be released as it is available.
I understand that these adjustments may not be ideal, and I appreciate your willingness to adapt to such unprecedented circumstances.
-Mark Stacy, MD, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences