Two program proposals were presented to senators. The proposals included a bachelor of arts in computer science degree program through the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, as well as a master of science in health profession education through the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development. Votes on both proposals were tabled and will be resubmitted to the Faculty Senate at a later date.

Ben Barberie, a representative of the Student Government Association, shared the preliminary findings from the Real Cards campaign organized by the SGA. Over 100 students were given the opportunity to voice their concerns about the past fall semester. Barberie shared the following response submitted by a student, which was said to summarize many student concerns from the past semester.

“I wish they knew that I’m trying my best to give 100% for everything. I struggle with prioritizing taking care of myself, on top of everything going on and everything I have to do. I appreciate professors saying they understand what we’re going through, but actions speak louder than words and I’m not seeing much action. I feel so depleted and anxious all the time. Going to face-to-face classes makes me feel like I’m putting myself in harm’s way and there’s no way around it.”

Executive Vice President and University Provost Beth Boehm acknowledged this concern raised by the SGA and announced that the Student Wellbeing committee, cosponsored by the Provost’s office and the Faculty Senate, has been reinstated. The committee has prepared a list of policy decisions for faculty to include in their syllabi for the upcoming spring semester. These recommendations were forwarded earlier as part of the Academic Scenario Planning committee, and Boehm stated they would be forwarded once more before the end of the year.

Boehm also informed senators that campus buildings will be locked from the end of the semester until and our return in the spring. Research faculty expecting packages over the break were encouraged to coordinate with Physical Plant and/or Canon mail to arrange deliveries and pick-ups. 

Senators were updated on COVID-19 testing protocols for those returning to campus in the spring. Boehm announced plans for four required testing periods for the upcoming semester, with the first testing period taking place from Jan. 4 to Jan. 15. All students, faculty and staff will be required to either participate in the testing period or submit a form stating they will not be on campus.

Dr. Jason Smith, chief medical officer for UofL Health, presented information on the current state of UofL Health’s COVID-19 response. Nearly 100 COVID-19 patients are currently receiving treatment through UofL hospitals. While only 10% of beds are being occupied by COVID-19 patients, Smith informed senators of the dangers that the state-wide surge in cases has imposed on smaller institutions.

He stated, “we’re seeing a lot more of transfers in from the outside, so we’re starting to see smaller hospitals become full with patients and they’re sending us non-COVID patients that they typically would have kept themselves and been able to take care of but there’s just a lack of beds overall within the community.” Smith went on to say that last year’s healthcare acquisitions have made it possible to accept the overflow of patients during the pandemic. 

As of Dec. 2, UofL Health has performed almost 95,000 tests across Louisville. Smith reported an increase in positivity rates, with a 23% positivity rate in the last week of November. To combat this surge, UofL Health has coordinated care with other healthcare systems in the Louisville area on treatment protocols, testing opportunities, and community-wide bed placement to ensure the ability to provide care for the community.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be accessed on the . The next faculty meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13 via Microsoft Teams.

The study, , also projects the city may be able to gradually reopen by early June if even stronger containment measures – especially more extensive testing and consistent contact tracing and quarantine of all newly infected individuals – are implemented.

But the study also warns that if strong and effective social distancing measures are pulled back too quickly, as many as 900 more people in Louisville would die and about 2,000 more would be hospitalized by August.

Seyed Karimi, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and System Sciences at the UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences, co-authored the report.

“We know from our modeling that decreasing the current social distancing measures without increased efforts to test, isolate, and do contact tracing can move us to an unstable path with increased hospitalization and infection trends that could be catastrophic,” said Karimi, who also is a health economist with LMPHW.

Study co-author Sarah Moyer, MD, director of LMPHW and the city’s chief health strategist, said the study projects that measures the city put in place in March averted a surge of COVID-19 patients that otherwise would have overwhelmed Louisville’s health care system. Going forward, only about 400 of Louisville’s 3,600 hospital beds will be needed for COVID-19 patients if current social distancing measures remain in place.

“This model validates the measures we have put in place to control the spread of COVID-19 in Louisville thus far,” Moyer said. “The study also serves as affirmation of our state and local efforts to slowly release restrictions.”

“The study is a good example of how academic research can inform real-life public health policy decisions to protect community health,” said Craig Blakely, PhD, MPH, dean of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Mayor Greg Fischer expressed his appreciation for the collaborative effort between UofL and the local health department, adding that the data underscores what city and health officials have been saying: “While we’re making progress in the fight against COVID-19, we still have a long way to go.

“Even as some restrictions are eased, we must stay focused and vigilant,” he said. “That’s why I have extended the executive order continuing the state of emergency here until June 1. It’s important that we not get our guard down against this dastardly disease.”

Researchers used the Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model, which measures the effect of public health policy interventions to contain an infection. They projected trends in the numbers of actively circulating COVID-19 infections, active hospitalizations, and deaths in the city from April 20 to August 20.

The authors considered two potential scenarios that estimated the current number of COVID-19 deaths in Louisville. The scenarios consider two different dates for the effectiveness of public and private social distancing policies in Jefferson County – March 31 and April 7, which they labeled as status quo scenarios.

Under each of the two scenarios, researchers considered four potential alternatives reflecting outcomes if social distancing and other containment strategies had been either weaker or stronger by 10% increments. They projected number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths that Louisville would see under each of those social distancing scenarios.

Their projections show that if stronger containment methods had been used from the presumed intervention days of March 31 and April 7, transmission of the virus would have decreased significantly, such that the number of infections in June would have been in two digits. On the other hand, if weaker containment methods were used from the presumed intervention days, virus transmission would have increased remarkably, such that the number of infections and hospitalization would not soon have stabilized.

Other report authors include Natalie DuPre, ScD, MS, Bert Little, PhD, MA, W. Paul McKinney, MD, all of the SPHIS.

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