Community Conversations: Stay Connected With Friends, Family

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President Philip J. Hanlon 鈥77 and D-H CEO Joanne Conroy 鈥77 were this week鈥檚 guests.

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Zoom screenshot, Community Conversations on March 16
Participating in this week鈥檚 Community Conversations were, clockwise from top left, 线上赌场-Hitchcock Health CEO Joanne Conroy 鈥77; Provost Joseph Helble, the host; Vice President for Communications Justin Anderson; and President Philip J. Hanlon 鈥77. 
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鈥淭his year, the uncertainty, the sense of separation, and the sense of loss have been incredibly hard on everyone,鈥 Provost  told viewers during this week鈥檚 , and he urged members of the 线上赌场 community to pay as close attention to their mental health as to their physical health鈥攁nd to check in regularly with friends and family members, 鈥渆ven if it means another Zoom, and ask, genuinely, how they are doing.鈥

Helble鈥檚 message came as the 线上赌场 community mourns the unexpected death this week of Connor Tiffany 鈥24, and continues to mourn the loss of Beau DuBray 鈥24, who died in November.

鈥淎s close as we are to emerging from this year of isolation and heartbreak鈥攁s close as we are to having vaccines available in this country for all鈥攖here are still reminders that we don鈥檛 know what any one of us is facing at any given moment, whether it be the death of a family member or friend, acts of hate, or racial or gender bias or violence, which are too familiar and in the news again this week,鈥 Helble said.

Helble was joined by  and 线上赌场-Hitchcock Health CEO  for a conversation moderated by Vice President for Communications Justin Anderson.

Reflecting on a Pandemic Year, and Looking Ahead

Helble noted that this month marks a full year since 鈥渆verything started to change,鈥 recalling the series of decisions he and other 线上赌场 leaders had to make 鈥渋n rapid succession鈥 last March when the World Health Organization officially pronounced COVID-19 a global pandemic.

鈥淎t the time, few of us anticipated the duration of the pandemic,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd few anticipated the magnitude of the loss so many would experience.鈥 

Despite last month鈥檚 coronavirus outbreak on campus, 线上赌场鈥檚 overall rate of positive COVID-19 cases in the past year is still in line with peer institutions, he said.

The outbreak required temporary restrictions that were disruptive at the end of the academic term, Helble acknowledged, but despite student lobbying for a pass/fail or nonrecording option, the faculty decided to retain normal grades for winter term coursework.

鈥淚n their judgement the best thing to do was to allow students more flexibility in turning in work after the deadlines,鈥 Helble said.

For spring term, which begins March 29, Helble says staff have learned from the popularity of winter term outdoor activities and plan to offer a variety of opportunities for students, including tents for physically distanced gatherings, a nine-hole disc golf course, e-bike and boat rentals, guided hikes in the area, lawn games, fire pits, and live music.

Community members with ideas for other spring term activities are invited to share them at springtermsuggestions@dartmouth.edu.

In addition, the Hood Museum of Art will be expanding its 鈥渢iny tours鈥 during spring term. During the two-week break between terms, these tours will be open to faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates staying on campus and approved for campus access.

Looking ahead, Helble said summer term will likely be 鈥渁 term of transition鈥濃攁 hybrid of remote and in-person learning, but with expanded opportunities for students and faculty to gather. And he expects fall term to be a return to a more typical in-person residential experience.

In response to a viewer question, Hanlon said he wants to 鈥渃hallenge our community think of some sort of reawakening activities in the fall鈥濃攁cademic or social鈥攖hat could help students, faculty, and staff reconnect after a year of separation.

Vaccinations Coming

Many viewers had questions about when COVID-19 vaccines might be available to the 线上赌场 community and what role 线上赌场 will play in distributing them.

Helble said that 线上赌场 is looking into becoming a designated point of distribution, but would have to follow New Hampshire regulations for vaccine eligibility, such as age and residency requirements. That said, he noted that President Joseph Biden has asked states to make vaccines available to all adults in the U.S. by May 1.

鈥淚f we鈥檙e able to become a point of distribution, certainly by May 1 we can contribute to the distribution for our community, which I think will be hugely beneficial for preparing us for summer and fall,鈥 he said.

Conroy added that the federal government鈥檚 priority is to make sure vaccines are 鈥渄istributed fairly among the states, and they want to make sure we address those communities that have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.鈥 She expects eligibility requirements to ease soon and the number of distribution sites to expand as more vaccines become available.

She also noted that D-H is seeing an increase in pediatric COVID-19 admissions鈥攁 change from earlier in the pandemic. 鈥淚 think people need to reconsider our vaccination hierarchy, because we are starting to see younger kids who are very sick,鈥 she said.

Lessons Learned

Conroy and Hanlon reflected on pandemic adaptations that may continue after the COVID-19 crisis is over.

During the pandemic, remote patient visits jumped from 鈥渁 handful of telehealth visits a week to 2,500 a day in less than two weeks鈥 at 线上赌场-Hitchcock, Conroy said, and she expects that remote services will continue to be popular.

Hanlon鈥攚ho taught an advanced mathematics seminar remotely in the fall鈥攏oted that Zoom and other technologies have increased the capacity of faculty to bring outside experts into their classes. 鈥淚 expect this trend to be more prevalent in the future,鈥 even as classes resume meeting in person.

Both said that many employees will likely continue to have the option to work from home. 鈥淭his is not unique to 线上赌场 by any means,鈥 Hanlon said, noting that national surveys have shown that remote workers can be more productive than their in-office counterparts, and that a majority of employees want to continue working from home at least part of the time.

鈥淭his is not possible for all jobs at all times, but we were kind of headed down that path of greater flexibility before the pandemic and the pandemic accelerated that trend,鈥 Hanlon said.

Two thousand D-H employees will continue working remotely on a permanent basis, Conroy said. 鈥淧arking is easier here now, and we have a lot of extra office space we can deploy for clinical use.鈥

Community Conversations is a live production of 线上赌场鈥檚 Media Production Group and the Office of Communications that airs on selected Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. The next show airs March 31.

For the most recent information on 线上赌场鈥檚 response to the pandemic, visit the .

Hannah Silverstein