University Daily Update - March 30
Rockhurst University Companions,
We hope you had a chance for personal renewal during the weekend and that you were able to enjoy some time outdoors. For those of you outside of the Kansas City area, we hope your weather was as beautiful as it was here.
Reminders
- To comply with Mayor Lucas’ stay-at-home order, please do not congregate on campus. Only essential personnel and a handful of residential students remain on campus at this time. We realize this is not our usual way of proceeding, and we regret this directive. However, we are doing this with your health and welfare in mind and with respect for our governmental authorities.
Illness Reporting
- Students, faculty and staff members are asked to report to the University when you are under investigation for having COVID-19, you are presumed positive with a case of COVID-19, or you have a laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 (see definitions below).
o Person under investigation: Any person who is under investigation for having the virus that causes COVID-19, or who was under investigation but tested negative for the virus.
o Presumptive positive case of COVID-19: Anyone who has tested positive for the virus, but testing was conducted at the local or state level. Currently, presumptive positive cases must have a sample undergo confirmatory testing at the CDC.
o Laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19: Anyone who has tested positive for the virus at the CDC laboratory.
- Please report your status by sending an email to IllnessReport@Rockhurst.Edu. The University will contact you by phone to learn some additional details about your situation and arrange for follow-up. The intent of this information sharing is twofold:
o First, it is our desire to care for our fellow companions during this challenging time.
o Second, the University has a desire to take reasonable steps to notify individuals from the Rockhurst community who may have been exposed – and also do a deeper cleaning of any spaces that you may have occupied while infected.
Our follow-up process with those who might make a report to us has been reviewed, approved, and applauded by the Kansas City Department of Health. Only a limited number of RU staff members will have access to the information that is shared with us on a need-to-know basis – the proper and respectful use of your personal information is important to us.
Partners in Prevention
- One of our goals at Rockhurst is to strengthen our community’s ability to support companions who may be experiencing thoughts of suicide. On college campuses across the country, over 50% of college students experience serious thoughts of suicide every year, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. Ask, Listen, Refer is an effective tool for learning the risk factors and warning signs for suicide and learning the skills necessary to identify companions at risk and connect them to the support or treatment they need. Most people want to help others in distress, but many report feeling unsure about how. By taking the Ask, Listen, Refer training, you can increase your confidence in supporting our companions through a challenging time and connect them to our campus resources.
o Ask, Listen, Refer Fast Facts
· Open to Rockhurst faculty, staff and students
· Web-based
· Approximately 20 minutes to complete
· Effective: Improves skill in referring students to counseling
· Campus, local and national resources
Consistent with our value of “cura personalis,” we invite you to complete Ask, Listen, Refer training, which can be accessed at http://www.asklistenrefer.org/ru. This training is specific to Rockhurst and our completion rates are compared to other schools in Missouri. Let’s show what our values mean to us by learning how to support each other and take the Ask, Listen, Refer Training.
Mission Moment(s)
- The Kansas City Jesuit community is now livestreaming Mass at 5:15 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Virtual congregants are asked to attend “live” if at all possible, and videos will only be available until midnight each day.
Worldwide Jesuit Webinar
- The Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, will host a webinar – The Preferences in a time of uncertainty and COVID-19 – about the Jesuits’ four Universal Apostolic Preferences. Fr. Sosa will speak for about 15 minutes about how he sees the journey of the UAP so far and the road ahead. He will also reflect on the particular challenges at this time of the coronavirus. Listeners will get a chance to write questions to which he will reply. Jesuits, companions in mission and friends are all welcome.
o The webinar will take place at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 2 (Central Daylight Time). Please register here.
o After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Matthew D. Quick, Ph.D. Randy Hopkins
Vice President & Dean of Students Chief of Security
Crisis Management Co-Chair Crisis Management Co-Chair