COVID-19 Testing Site Information

No public COVID-19 Testing is available on the UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford as of January 1, 2021.  Please do not call UIC or the College of Medicine Rockford for test results or information.

Any questions about testing done previously at the UIC site: Call the Illinois Department of Public Health results line at (888) 297-7208. Other questions go to the Winnebago County Health Department COVID hotline: (815) 319-6705 (Available Monday through Friday 9am-5pm) or email [email protected].

For more information about COVID-19 and when to get tested, visit the Winnebago County Health Department website at www.wchd.org.

Note New Process to Request In-Person Events or Sessions – 04/05/21

The Rockford Recovery Committee, which is comprised of representatives from the various colleges and programs on the UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford, has been meeting since early in the COVID-19 pandemic to create guidelines for keeping the campus community as safe as possible while following local, state and national COVID-19 guidelines.

As positivity rates decline and vaccination rates increase, the committee is exploring ways to safely allow in-person gatherings. Please use the Rockford Re-open Form  to request in-person events, classes or sessions on campus or university events to be held off campus. This form may be used to request a specific event (e.g., a retreat) or one that will recur across the year (e.g., a monthly departmental meeting).

Please note that this is a request form. Completion of the form does not guarantee approval. The form will be reviewed by the Rockford Recovery Committee, who will make a recommendation to the Deans. The Deans will have final approval of in-person events. Approval from the Dean/campus committee does not guarantee space is available for your event. Please continue to submit requests for rooms through the room reservation system. When planning your events, be certain to contact building services to ensure the room is set up safely and cleaned as appropriate.

Rockford Recovery and the Dean reserve the right to cancel previously approved events as needed.

Follow New Masking Guidelines – 3/30/21

The UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford has adopted new standards for face masks on campus. These include:

  • Bandanas and gaiters are no longer acceptable face coverings.
  • Masks with multiple layers are recommended.
  • Even vaccinated individuals will have to wear masks while on campus.
  • Only when ALONE in a room may a face mask be removed. You are not alone if other people are in the room, i.e., there’s no “alone together” in a study room. If there are two people, both must wear masks.
  • Continue to maintain 6 feet of social distance. Some schools have decreased this to 3 feet, but we have not.

See CDC for further guidelines on improving mask protection.

Employee Travel Reporting

If you plan to travel to any of the high burden states contact Patricia Monaghan at [email protected] or call 815-395-5789 once you have confirmed your travel arrangements. She will need travel dates (departure and return) and COVID vaccine status to determine your quarantine requirements upon return. If you received both doses of the COVID vaccine include dates and also send a copy of your proof of vaccination. Anyone who travels domestic or international regardless of vaccination status still needs to report all travel. On an individual basis depending on your vaccine status, where you traveled, and a combination of factors, we will determine your plan for return from travel. Quarantine requirements are based on a combination of Winnebago County and UHS guidance.

For the latest travel guidance from the Winnebago County Health Department see https://www.wchd.org/covid-19/travelguidance. (usually updated on Wednesdays)

Update 12/26/20

For those students and employees who have been invited to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, please bring this consent form with you: COVID 19 Vax Consent

Fact Sheet Recipients And Caregivers

Campus Study Hours Listed

Study rooms on campus can be reserved for individual or group study by Medicine, MBT and Pharmacy students during the following hours (effective Jan. 25):
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Follow capacity limits set for COVID-19 social distancing that are posted at each room. Please do not move the furniture (tables or chairs) to sit closer or as a larger group. Wear your mask unless you are actively consuming food and beverage and are the only person in the room.
Study Room reservations must be in before 5 p.m. The listserv used for reserving study rooms/fitness center is monitored M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Reserve study rooms by emailing the date and time wanted to [email protected] not more than one week in advance.

The following study rooms will be available on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
• First-floor study rooms
• Information Commons (Fishbowl)

Student Health and Wellness
All appointments will shift to telehealth unless otherwise determined by your provider as of November 16. Call (815) 395-5870 to schedule an appointment.

Non-Essential Employees Work From Home
College of Medicine employees working on campus should be minimal and limited to essential employees and one person in the office at a time. Supervisors should work with their staff to minimize their presence on campus. Check your e-mail for college- and department-specific guidelines.

Curriculum
Students should continue to check their email regularly for program-specific information.
Medical students:
M1s and M2s should continue to look for further information from Dr. Clements-Jewery and reach out with questions. There may be on-campus sessions in early January related to anatomy or DoCS that a student may attend provided they are within the guidelines for travel and quarantine as set forth by the WCHD. If a student is not within the guidelines they will not be required to attend in person. In DoCS, the sessions planned early in January are practice sessions. In Anatomy, students who are not able to come to campus during the first two weeks of Block 3 will be given an opportunity to do so later in the semester. You will receive more detailed information as to what your proposed schedule looks like in the coming weeks. We are actively working on the schedules and will continue to update them as guidelines from the college, campus, county, and state change. If you have concerns about your ability to participate in person on campus in the spring please reach out to Dean Richards ([email protected]).

If you are volunteering in a clinical setting please contact Dean Blevins at [email protected]

If you would like to take a block or clerkship exam on campus please reach out to Brandon Dorsey ([email protected]) to schedule a room.

Class of 2021, if you want to reserve a room for virtual interviews, please contact Stephanie Calato. IT has purchased selfie lights and webcams for each of the interview rooms, so those are available for use and should stay in the room.

If you need to borrow a Windows laptop, contact Janet in the library at [email protected] If you want to use a Mac, call IT at (815) 395-5570.

Resources for College of Medicine Rockford Students:

Student Health and Wellness

All-UIC College of Medicine COVID-19 info

UIC COVID-19 info

Check your UIC email regularly for program-specific information.

Resources for College of Medicine Rockford Staff and Faculty:

REPORTING OF STUDENT INFORMATION REGARDING COVID19 8 18 2020

Campus COVID-19 Information

Guidelines for COM Staff and Faculty To Report Student-Related COVID-19 Concerns

Faculty or staff who are contacted by a student who is experiencing symptoms, has concerns that they have been exposed to a patient who tested positive for COVID-19 or who has tested positive themselves for COVID-19, must notify Carol Schuster at (716) 534-1882 or via email at [email protected]. The notification should include the student’s name, a brief description of the situation and the student’s cell phone number. If the student has symptoms, also refer them to their primary care physician, if they have not yet been in contact with them.

Learn more about this and what to do if a student becomes symptomatic while in the building or on rotation at https://rockford.medicine.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2020/03/REPORTING-OF-STUDENT-INFORMATION-REGARDING-COVID19-8-18-2020.pdf

Guidelines for COM Students with COVID-19 Symptoms or Exposures

The Rockford Recovery group has modified some of our COVID reporting procedures. If a student develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 please do as follows:

  1. The student should contact their Primary Care Physician, Student Health (815-395-5870), or call 911 as appropriate.
  2. The student should notify Dean Blevins ([email protected]) or Dean Richards ([email protected])
  3. The student should expect to receive a follow-up call from the Winnebago County Health Department.

Please remember that you are not to come to campus if you have been instructed to quarantine or isolate as a result of COVID. You must be able to answer the two entry questions (Do you have symptoms of COVID? and Have you been in contact with anyone who has COVID or COVID symptoms?) to the negative, have your temperature taken, and wear a mask prior to entering the campus.

Employee Guidelines If Symptomatic or You Test Positive for COVID-19

If you are running a temperature in excess of 100.4 degrees, have any COVID-related symptoms, or have possible COVID exposure, do not report to work. Per university guidance, if you need to be tested, or have tested positive 1) isolate at home, 2) contact your UIC supervisor, 3) call Patricia Monaghan in Employee Health Services at (815) 395-5789 (instead of HR). You may not physically report back to work until cleared by Employee Health Services. This process is coordinated at the Rockford campus, and employees will not need to report to the Chicago campus.

If you are experiencing life-threatening symptoms, please contact 911 for guidance.

No Visitors Allowed in Campus Buildings

Only students, staff, faculty and some contractors/vendors with appointments who must be on campus should be in campus buildings. Family, friends and the general public should not be inside the buildings at this time.

Masking Reminders

Wearing a mask may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus. Remember to:

  • Make sure you have the right kind of mask
  • Bring your mask with you
  • Wear your mask at all times on campus and whenever you can’t maintain 6-ft. of social distancing
  • Wear your mask correctly so it covers both nose and mouth
  • Keep your mask clean

Learn more about making, wearing and washing your mask at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html.

Travel Restrictions

The UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford, along with Correctional Health Care Services, MERIT and Mile Square Health Center – L.P. Johnson Rockford, has implemented return-to-work guidelines related to self-quarantine requirements implemented by University Health Services and the Winnebago County Health Department.  Employees who have returned from personal travel or have hosted visitors from outside the U.S. or from the following COVID-19 high-burden states/regions will not be allowed to return to on-campus work until cleared by University Health Services.

For the most current list of high-burden states, see https://www.wchd.org/covid.

Clearance to return to work is dependent on a number of variables including COVID-19 symptoms and known contact with a COVID-19-positive person during travel.  For healthcare workers, the minimum time off work will be eight days after return from or hosting visitors from the high-burden state.  For non-healthcare workers, the minimum time before returning to on- campus work will be 14 days after return or hosting visitors from the high-burden state.  Employees would be required to have a COVID-19 swab test a minimum of five days after returning from the high-burden state.

Please note that states designated as high-burden and university restrictions are subject to change.  Prior to any travel, employees should carefully consider the impact their travel will have on the ability to return to work.  Specific questions should be directed to Brett Ruiz ([email protected]) in Human Resources.

All-UIC College of Medicine COVID-19 info

UIC COVID-19 info