For more than three years, the University of Kentucky has ensured the health and safety of our community remain our top priority amidst COVID-19. As a result of the leadership of President Capilouto, Provost DiPaola and the START (Screening, Testing and Tracing, to Accelerate Restart and Transition) Team, we reimagined our approach to education, research, service and care to remain operational in light of this public health emergency.
In summer 2020, UK operationalized Health Corps — a collective of public health, student affairs and customer service professionals — to provide resources related to the pandemic for students, employees and families. Since then, they have answered questions; connected members of the community to life-saving resources; supported students, employees and families as they navigated ongoing policies; and kept our people healthy and our campus safe.
Due to the nature of the virus, our efforts have shifted tremendously over time. On May 11, 2023, the national emergency related to the COVID pandemic ended. At this time, there are no major policies in effect on our campus related to COVID.
As a result, Health Corps’ final day in operation was Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
Throughout the pandemic, UK has responded to every challenge with commitment to the health and safety of its community. UK HealthCare and Health Corps, among others in our community, have dedicated these last few years to taking care of our people.
They answered hundreds of thousands of phone calls and responded to tens of thousands of emails.
They administered vaccines — including approximately 250,000 doses at Kroger Field, which they mobilized in January 2021. And they celebrated students and employees who did their part by getting vaccinated and boosted.
They collaborated with government officials and public health entities and organized critical research studies and vaccine trials.
They traveled into surrounding neighborhoods and communities to ensure no Kentuckian struggled to receive the care they deserve.
They ensured our students and employees understood and complied with our policies. They assuaged fears. They provided calm reassurance to anyone who was anxious that despite all that remained unknown — together — we would get through COVID.
They cleaned classrooms and residence halls, delivered meals, picked up prescription medication, consulted patients via telehealth, drove members of our community across town, made beds for ill students and permitted us to live up to our promise to be Kentucky’s university.
At the University of Kentucky, we are only as good as our people. Thank you to every student, employee, family member, alumnus, community partner and neighbor who made us proud to be the University of, for and with Kentucky.
Lastly, the Office for Student Success will monitor correspondence through Health Corps’ existing phone lines, email inboxes and the self-report tool. If anyone at UK or in our community has questions or requires services related to COVID, such as testing, vaccines or policies, they should contact their primary care provider.