I am excited to welcome our community to the 2022-23 academic year! I look forward to the energy our students always bring to campus. It will be a remarkable year.
As we ready the campus to welcome students, I know that many of you will have questions about COVID-19, monkeypox, and any other communicable disease we may encounter. I want to take this opportunity to share the leadership team’s philosophy.
While COVID-19 variants are still very much a part of our lives, we now have the vaccines, scientific research, and understanding to manage it. At Colorado College, we believe in-person, on-campus learning, teaching, working, and living are essential. To achieve that, our approach will continue to be flexible and adaptive.
This year, we are centralizing COVID operations and decision-making for students at the Student Health Center, under the leadership of Senior Director of Student Health and Wellbeing Heather Horton, Ph.D. Focusing our COVID efforts in the area most closely supporting students’ health and well-being will allow us to be nimble and efficient. Dr. Horton will continue to employ our public health framework for making decisions about our responses to COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. This framework is informed by the Centers for Disease Control and in consultation with the El Paso County Public Health Department. Dr. Horton will also work closely with a COVID-19 Advisory Committee of staff, faculty, and student representatives to ensure that we are considering the needs of all members of our campus community.
Staff and faculty enrolled in the college’s healthcare plan will rely on Cigna for COVID-19 testing and care. All insurance carriers now reimburse up to eight tests a month per individual.
The Student Health Center and Wellness Resource Center also are preparing preventative measures, messaging campaigns, and care strategies for monkeypox in collaboration with the El Paso County Public Health Department. Strategies will be in place as students arrive.
I am grateful to the many staff and faculty across campus who coordinated and advised the college’s COVID-19 response last year. Their work helped CC to be thoughtful, thorough, and supportive of our students, faculty, and staff during a crisis.
We are now in a different time when we can embrace CC’s longstanding holistic approach to mental and physical well-being and rely on our continuing culture of caring for each other and taking precautions to minimize the risk of harm to ourselves and to others.
Students and families, you will soon receive a message from Dr. Horton with greater detail on the college’s planning, response, support, and resources.
Thank you for your care and commitment to the CC community. I look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Sincerely,
