September 10, 2021

Covid Resources at Rocky Vista University

September 10, 2021 | CRT Update

Dear RVU Family:

Labor Day is behind us, summer is fading and Fall is right around the corner. The arrival of the Fall ushers in changing color of leaves, cooler weather, pumpkin spice, and of course flu season.

Please remember that receiving a flu vaccine can significantly reduce your risk of getting the flu. The Rocky Vista University Health Center in Colorado is offering flu vaccines to our employees, students and their immediate family members (please call or visit their website to make an appointment). Those on the Southern Utah Campus can take advantage of the onsite flu immunization clinic to be held on Monday, September 20 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM in the Café/Lounge Area. The Clinic is open to all members of our RVU Community and their immediate families (children 4 years of age and up). The cost is FREE for those covered under CIGNA, AETNA and many other plans (Check with your insurance provider if covered under another plan, most plans have coverage for this). All forms of Medicaid are accepted, except Molina – bring your Medicaid card. Sign up here.

In addition to receiving the flu shot, you can further protect yourself by taking steps to improve your immune system. The CDC published an article listing ways to boost immunity. Each tip has a hyperlink at the bottom of the page that leads to more information and recommendations. This is a great first step towards a more wholistic, empowering approach to ensure people can protect themselves and others as much as possible. Also, with the surge we are seeing in COVID cases, let’s all do our part to continue to keep ourselves and others safe by observing appropriate hand washing, social distancing when necessary, and wearing a mask when attending large group events.

Thank you for your continued efforts to keep yourself and others safe and healthy. And remember PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS.

Professionally yours,
The COVID-19 Response Team

The Dawn of a New Beginning

It has been a long, arduous journey since we packed up our laptops and started to work remotely. We were thrust into the unknown and had to figure out how to carry out the demands of our job. But we did it and we did it well. And we did it without a reduction in our workforce which was so prevalent at other institutions during the pandemic.

We have learned a lot over the past 15 months. We learned that we are resilient and can do whatever it takes to deliver an excellent curriculum and to serve our students, even if done in a virtual platform. We transitioned to working remotely without missing a beat. It has been a challenge both professionally and personally, but we have persevered - demonstrating that we truly epitomize and embrace our core values of innovation and excellence.

As a community, we will take what we have learned to make RVU even stronger. And we will celebrate, as we have much to be proud of and look forward to. We will celebrate coming back to campus and be able to have face to face conversations and meetings. We will welcome our new students in person. This year also marks the 15-year anniversary of our university. And of course, as of tomorrow Dr. Forstein will officially take the reigns as our new President. An inauguration is being planned to commemorate and celebrate his presidency.

As much of a relief it will be to move toward normal, it is important to remember that we are not completely out of the woods yet and we need to remain vigilant. The CRT will continue to meet to ensure the ongoing safety and well-being of our community.

We want to thank you all for the part you played in keeping our community safe and in helping us advance to Phase Green. Due to everyone’s efforts, we didn’t have a single reported case of COVID transmitted on campus (we want to keep it that way). We appreciate your timely response to upload your proof of vaccination to get us to herd immunity.

Please continue to reach out to any individual on the CRT or your supervisor with any questions you may have.

We are excited to begin our transition to our new normal. We hope you have a safe and relaxing 4th of July weekend and look forward to seeing smiling faces on campus soon.

Stay safe and be well