It is time for all of us to look at our own activities and behavior and assure ourselves that we are providing a safe environment for others, including those close to us, those we work with, and those we learn from.
I have been pleased that the university has taken great efforts to provide us all the guidance we need to protect ourselves and to limit the impact of the pandemic. CWRU has done a remarkable job with testing undergraduate students, providing appropriate insight, advice and barriers, managing our environmental control systems, regulating access, and sending daily reminders.
But the rest is up to us.
I’ve been disappointed, however, observing that only half of us in training programs—even at the graduate level—bother to fill out the daily attestation form. May I ask that you do so every day whether or not you plan to be on campus? Among those coming here, cooperation should be 100%, but data shows the figure at around 50%. While the effort to collect this information is a credit to the institution to try to help us maintain a safe environment for all, how can we be proud of the low compliance?
I encourage all of you to maintain your activities, be they professional, training, educational, or social as best you can, and be as productive and enlightened as you possibly can be. But remember your basic COVID-period rules for masking up, distancing, hand and surface cleaning, completing the attestation form—and excusing yourself if you feel ill.
We will all do better resisting the temptation to become another statistic in the COVID era.
Stan
Stan Gerson, MD
Interim Dean, School of Medicine
Director, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
Director, National Center for Regenerative Medicine