The Archdiocese of Denver’s Catholic schools and Centura Health have teamed up to help parents and students feel safer from the novel coronavirus when in-school learning resumes in the fall.
Centura Health has been working closely with the Office of Catholic Schools and advising Catholic school leadership on their re-opening plans. A task force comprised of medical professionals from Centura Health, faculty from various local Catholic schools who have previous experience in the medical field, and others, including Deacon Rob Lanciotti, a former virologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been assembled to help formulate and implement robust health protocols in all of the schools to ensure a safe learning environment is maintained.
“Centura has established a community partnership advisory team, and we did that to provide support to community organizations that came forward and asked for us to support them in understanding how they [can] welcome students back, and teachers and staff and everybody back into the schools and what that needs to look like,” Jennifer Wills, spokeswoman for Centura Health, told the Denver Catholic. “We’ve been meeting regularly with the Archdiocese of Denver Catholic Schools’ leadership team to provide guidance and recommendations that are really backed by scientific and clinical rigor.”
Keeping in line with what health organizations such as the CDC are suggesting, Centura Health has been providing counsel on what masking protocols should look like in schools, offering social distancing guidance and helping to understand proper protocols in situations such as isolating a student if they come to school and have a fever. They have also been offering guidance on cleaning and screening protocols.
Additionally, Centura Health has committed to donating two million masks to Catholic schools and other Catholic entities within the Archdiocese of Denver and beyond in an effort to share their resources and ultimately, help parents and students feel better about in-school learning.
“We’re neighbors helping neighbors and supporting one another as we manage through a pandemic and ensuring safety for everyone, all the communities,” Wills said.
“We are extremely grateful to Centura Health for their generosity and their gifts of time, talent, and resources to assist our schools during this unprecedented time in our history,” said Elias Moo, Superintendent of Denver Catholic Schools. “That Centura Health has stepped forward to say, ‘We are here to help you,’ speaks highly of the type of organization that they are, as well as their deep commitment to the communities they serve.
“As we continue to navigate this pandemic to ensure we can open our schools in the fall to in-school learning for all students in the most safe manner, one that promotes the health and common good of our whole Catholic schools community, we are proud to call Centura Health our partners and to begin what I hope will be a long and fruitful relationship.”