Quarantine dorm residents receive daily, online well-being assessments

Students assigned to quarantine dorms during the spring semester can expect to receive daily calls from Carolina Housing in addition to daily digital assessments via email from Campus Health to monitor their well-being. 

The addition of daily calls for the spring semester resulted from student feedback after the fall semester, which called for health monitoring and communication from the University while living alone.

Michelle Camarena, director of nursing at Campus Health, said the decision arose from students wanting more support from the University while in isolation and quarantine.

“Our goal is to provide students with a consistent and open line of communication in case anyone needs health or other assistance while in isolation or quarantine, and the email provides this connection with a click of a button," Camarena said in a statement. 

Students who request assistance through the daily digital assessments will receive a response within a few hours, even on weekends, Camarena said. 

For quarantined students, emails go out daily at 9 a.m. The email includes an assessment, which allows students to report symptoms and request a check-in from Campus Health. 

The email also points students to where they can find:

• financial resources,
• academic support,
• health and wellness information and 
• how to connect with people across the University who can help them with resources from the CV-19 Student Care Hub.

If students need additional support, they can also call Campus Health directly or fill out a form to quickly connect with a representative from the Care Hub.

Ashleigh Martens, a first-year political science major, was required to quarantine during the fall semester after being exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Campus Health employees called and checked in on quarantined students every couple of days to monitor their symptoms, Martens said. 

“I didn’t feel neglected totally,” she said. 

Martens said that, while she did not experience serious symptoms, the daily assessments will be more beneficial for students having a hard time. 

Allan Blattner, executive director of Carolina Housing, said Carolina Housing is also calling students daily to check in on how they are doing while in isolation and quarantine. 

There is a protocol in place to physically check in on isolated and quarantined students if they repeatedly stop responding to calls and emails, Blattner said. 

Once Carolina Housing has more than one non-responsive element, such as not responding to a meal survey or phone call, there is an escalation protocol implemented, starting with repeated phone calls, an email and a text.

“Students really wanted someone to check in every day, and so that’s what we put in place,” Blattner said. 

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