Residence Hall Re-opening Plan

The Lehman College Residence Hall is located at 247 Bedford Park Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458. There will be 17 total residents that will be living in the space. Three are staff members and 14 will be student residents.

Response to Guiding Principles

Safety first: Lehman College has made the health and safety of the entire College community the focal point of all its planning and decision-making.

Residential Living

Fewer than 14 students will reside on campus due to their inability to commute to campus (i.e. international students, students outside a reasonable commuting radius, no transportation, etc.). There will be 1 student per bedroom.

Shared Bathrooms/Commons Areas/Kitchenettes

• The residential density will ensure three students to a shared bathroom on each of the three floors. Each floor has two bathrooms.
• Kitchenettes will be used by one resident at a time to cook their items. Schedules will be placed on white boards for students to sign up for designated cooking times
• Common Areas can be used by no more than three residents’ being able to socially distance as described below.

Signage

Signage will be placed at the entrance of the building, in each kitchenette and bathrooms

Guest Policy and Visitors

Students will not be allowed visitors; This includes overnight guest and short-term guest. Guest policy has been suspended since late February and will continued to be suspended for the Fall 2020 semester. Social gatherings will be limited to outdoors and face coverings will be required at all times when moving outside the residents’ room.  

In the event a student is exposed to COVID-19 isolation/quarantine is necessary

• If residents have any symptoms of illness or have been in contact with anyone who has symptoms of illness they are being told to quarantine in their units. RA and RD will ensure necessary support systems are provided.
• For those students in quarantine due to COVID-19, the campus will work with the Lehman College Basic Needs Center to coordinate access to meals by way of food cards, grocery deliveries, and takeout. Lehman will also provide student access to items located in Campus food pantry.
• Due to the potential mental and psychosocial health issues that may occur as a result of isolation, staff from the Counseling, Wellness, and Health Centers will work with the Resident Hall Director to provide timely support for students. These efforts will also be supplemented by resident assistants. Lehman has also created a comprehensive list of external resources that will be shared with students upon moving into the residence.
• The Heath Center will provide Telemental health to students in quarantine. This will include daily check ins regarding new and ongoing symptoms. The Counseling Center will also provide Telemental health services. Services can be accessed via zoom, by phone, or email.
• Under the supervision of the Resident Director, Residents Assistant will check on the health and safety of residents daily during their duty rounds.  These interactions will occur from outside the room to limit exposure through teleconferencing applications such as zoom and facetime.
  
  
• If facing extreme symptoms residents will be advised to seek medical treatment.  The RA/RD will call 911 if a medical emergency and wait with student until EMS arrives and will promptly contact the Student’s emergency contact.
• Lehman will help to facilitate transportation for students effected by COVID-19. This will be coordinated with campus and external services. At this time, most students who require emergency care are transported to Montefiore Hospital. This will continue to be the primary hospital student are sent to.

Cleaning and Disinfection of exposed areas

• Once positive diagnose is confirmed, infected student will be moved to Isolation room that have already been taken off-line to quarantine for the recommend CDC timeframe and until the student can provide evidence of a test negative. 
• Exposed room will be taken offline. At which point, Campus Facilities will follow college approved cleaning protocol. The room will remain vacant until clearance in given by Campus Facilities.

Notification of Occupants

• In an event a student test positive, The Hall Director will notify the Assistant Director and the Dean of Students. This information will then be shared by the Dean with designated senior administration and the COVID-19 Campus Liaison. All residents will be notified of possible exposure by Hall Director and Dean of students. 

RA/RD Training:

• RA and RD staff are Student Affairs Professionals and Paraprofessionals and will receive same training as staff, additional training will be provided by CUNY Residence Hall Council in-service training sessions.

Move-In Procedures

Due to the small occupancy of the Residential building, 14 students maximum. All students are assigned a staggered move-in date over the course of the Move-in week. We allocated an entire week to minimize the risk of possible exposure.  No more than 2 students will be allowed to move-in within a 3-hour period. Students that are moving in within the same period will be located on different floors. Only one student will be able to move-in per floor at a time. 

Move-out

The closure of campus residence halls falls under the purview of the President.  Upon notification of a closure, the Office of Student Affairs will work with both the Campus Emergency Response Team and Crisis Communications team to provide guidance to students affected by the disruption. Students will be provided with a minimum of 48 hours to vacate the Residence Halls.  In some cases, students will be allowed to store personal items on campus. 

• The college will work with external partners to help facilitate temporary housing for students who are unable to secure housing if the facility is closed. This includes but is not limited to other housing facilities within the larger University System.

Communication

Students will be notified of the closure via telephone, text and email.  The email will contain timelines, checkout instructions and emergency housing opportunities. 

Isolation and Quarantine Spaces

In the event a student is diagnosed with COVID-19. There will be 4 rooms set apart as Isolation rooms and 1 bathroom set aside as isolation on the second and third floor. 2 rooms will be located on the second floor, with an individual bathroom assigned to the space. A second set of 2 Isolation rooms will be located on the third floor with its own bathroom assigned as well.

Programming

RA and RD staff will enforce social distancing across the residential areas, kitchenettes, commons areas and bathrooms.

Residents Assistants will coordinate periodic programming focused on PPE, CDC recommended and required hygiene in an attempt to foster a safe community. Hall Director and Resident Assistants will provide ongoing educational programs and relevant articles. Housing staff is scheduled to participate in webinars coordinated by University residential council. 

COVID-19 Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures

1. Introduction

Enhanced cleaning and disinfection is critical to reducing the spread of COVID-19 at Lehman College.  These procedures have been developed to provide consistent practices for enhanced cleaning and disinfection in accordance with New York State Department of Health regulations, CDC recommendations and guidance available from safety and industry associations. 

It is expected that all employees, students, and contractors will follow these procedures to protect their own health as well as other members of the campus community.

These procedures are in effect until further notice and are subject to change at any time as additional guidance becomes available.

2. Custodial Staff Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures

The following procedures describe the cleaning procedures to be followed by the Custodial Staff.

A. Routine Cleaning 

Routine cleaning of occupied areas shall be continued according to departmental standards and includes actions such as: 

• Cleaning high contact surfaces that are touched by many different people, such as light switches, handrails and doorknobs/handles
• Dust- and wet-mopping or auto-scrubbing floors
• Vacuuming of entryways and high traffic areas
• Removing trash
• Cleaning restrooms
• Dusting horizontal surfaces

B. Disinfection of Frequently Touched Surfaces

Frequently touched surfaces in common areas of occupied buildings are cleaned and disinfected by the custodial staff using products meeting the EPA criteria for use against COVID-19.  When such products are temporarily not available, disinfectants labeled for effectiveness against Human Coronaviruses must be used.
Examples of frequently touched surfaces include:

• Doorknobs or push bars
• Refrigerator and microwave doors and handles
• Door handles and push plates
• Stair Handrails
• Kitchen and bathroom faucets and fixtures
• Light switches
• Handles on equipment

C. Disinfection of Bathrooms/Kitchenettes

• Residence Life staff will provide students with Cleaning supplies placed in each bathroom for use in before and after every usage. Students will be educated to wipe down all areas before using cleaning wipes and disinfecting sprays. These items will be replaced on an regular basis. 
• Purell stations on each floor for residents to use when arriving on each floor. Resident assistant are responsible to monitor and report and refill stations as needed and part of their daily duty rounds. 
• Will be getting steady supplies from normal purchasing methodology and also the Building and Grounds department.

D. Cleaning and Disinfection of exposed areas

• Once positive diagnose is confirmed, infected student will be moved to Isolation room to quarantine for the recommend CDC timeframe and until the student test negative. 
• Exposed room will be taken offline. At which point, Campus Facilities will follow college approved cleaning protocol. 

E. Notification of Occupants

• In an event a student test positive, The Hall Director will notify the Assistant Director and the Dean of Students. This information will then be shared by the Dean with designated senior administration and the COVID-19 Campus Liaison. All residents will be notified of possible exposure by Hall Director and Dean of students. 

A. As recommended by the CDC, all campus community members are required to:

• Adhere to social distancing restrictions.
• Cover their nose and mouth with a face covering when inside Residence Hall, Exceptions include: when alone in your assigned residence hall bedroom or when eating / drinking. Face coverings are also necessary when outdoors on campus when you are unable to maintain a social distance of more than six feet. 

B. Face coverings should:

• fit snugly but comfortably against the face
• be secured with ties or ear loops
• include multiple layers of fabric
• allow for breathing without restriction

C. Failure to comply:

• Interactions with those failing to comply should be viewed as a public health educational opportunity.  Persons not wearing a face covering or maintaining social distancing should be asked to comply.
• Failure to comply may result in the following actions:
• For students, it may result in a disciplinary referral to the Student Conduct Office for further action and/or removal from on-campus housing.
• For employees, it may result in referral to Human Resource Services for review and resolution.

For visitors, lessees, revocable permit holders and contractors, it may result in removal of authorization to be on campus property and/or termination of the applicable lease/permit/contract.

D. Definitions

• Social Distancing: or physical distancing, means keeping space between yourself and other people by staying at least 6 feet or more from other people depending upon the air circulation, not gathering in groups, staying out of crowded places and avoiding mass gatherings of any size.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. Personal protective equipment may include items such as gloves, safety glasses, respirators, or face coverings.

E. Students need be on the alert for signs of illness

Students must confirm they do not have fever, shortness of breath, cough or symptoms of COVID -19. Students will have to answer a few questions on a Bi-weekly basis.

Student are required to use the Campus re-entry/ self-screening tool located in CUNYFirst. Which is required by the university to gain entry to any university facility. Students are required to fill out the screening tool every day they attempt to regain access to the residential building.

These questions are:

• Has anyone in your household had any COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days?
• Has anyone in your household been tested for COVID-19 in the past 14 days and are you waiting for the result or was the result positive?
• Has anyone in your household had close or proximate contact with someone who is confirmed or suspected as a COVID-19 case in the past 14 days?
• Students who have a fever of 100.3 or above will not be admitted to the facility. We encourage students to be on the alert for signs of illness.

All Students will have to sign a document acknowledging and accepting additional requirements before being provided with keys to the Residence hall spaces

F. Traveling to New York from the following States will be required to Quarantine for 14 days before entering the residence halls

The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and many other helpful data points are always available at forward.ny.gov.

"As an increasing number of states around the country fight significant community spread, New York is taking action to maintain the precarious safety of its phased, data-driven reopening," Governor Cuomo said. "We've set metrics for community spread just as we've set metrics for everything the state does to fight COVID-19, and eight more states have reached the level of spread required to qualify for New York's travel advisory, meaning we will now require individuals traveling to New York from those states to quarantine for 14 days." 

• New York State Travel Advisory

The full, updated list of states on the travel advisory, which will be regularly updated, follows below:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• Nevada
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah