Presidential Communications
Dear TTUHSC faculty and staff,
Amazing, incredible, and awe-inspiring are just a few ways to describe the ONE TEAM effort taking place on all of our campuses. You are living our VISIONARY and KINDHEARTED values while making an impact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The results are energizing:
- Innovative approaches to meeting personal protective equipment (PPE) needs.
- Adaptation of the curriculum to support online learning for students.
- Clinical streamlining to rise up to the health care demands.
- Support efforts for our front line health care providers such as child care options and meal deliveries.
Despite obstacles associated with the pandemic, faculty and staff are working diligently across our divisions - all to support our great university and the communities we serve.
Please review the following updates.
Team Leads for Disseminating Information
To help keep everyone abreast of recent communications and guidance, I encourage each
of our divisions and departments to ask for volunteers or assign someone from your
teams to take the lead in reporting updates during your daily/weekly team huddles.
Please continue to visit our website as a centralized resource of university-related COVID-19 information. Additionally, if you have questions or suggestions about the information, please share those comments with our communications team at externalrelations@ttuhsc.edu.
Reporting Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
All TTUHSC faculty, staff, and students are required to report possible COVID-19 exposures
related to clinical work to the TTUHSC Office of Institutional Health. Additionally,
I strongly encourage our TTUHSC community to report personal exposures to the same
office. Contact Nicole Hines, R.N., MSN, CIC, director, at nicole.hines@ttuhsc.edu or 806.368.2647 (staffed 24/7) so we can assist you in following protocols and/or
gaining access to available resources.
As of today, there are 11 COVID-19 cases among our faculty, staff, and student populations. Moving forward, we will report cases as we are made aware of them on our website.
StatlineTV
Statline TV is not gone! To catch up with "White and Looney," please join us in the
Presidential Town Halls at 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday each week. Recordings from
each segment as well as Q&As are available on our website. Check the Events calendar and the daily Announcements email digest for upcoming topics.
Employee Compensation
At our March 31 Town Hall, we received many questions about job security during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Living our Values-Based Culture, I want to be as transparent as
possible: You have a commitment from TTUHSC leadership that currently filled positions
will be funded through August 31, 2020, without any reduction in scheduled pay.
Being proactive as we enter the next fiscal year, beginning September 1, 2020, our goal will be to try and retain as many of our current positions as possible. We will need to develop strategies now to manage potential budget shortfalls. This may include limiting recruitment for vacant positions; reducing or eliminating nonessential travel, food, and entertainment costs; and postponing capital projects where feasible.
The reality is evident; the COVID-19 crisis will have a broad economic impact. TTUHSC practice plans are experiencing significant reductions in patient volumes, which will result in lost revenue. Additionally, the Texas Comptroller has yet to release information about the impact on state funding.
TTUHSC is committed to carrying out our mission related to education, clinical service, and research in a strategic manner that reflects our values. We will provide updates as further information is received.
Our university is not the bricks and mortar of offices, clinics, research labs, and lecture halls. You are our greatest asset. I urge you all, stay the course, and let's maintain our strong momentum! Greatness is born from the struggle. We will see the other side of this pandemic as ONE TEAM, and TTUHSC will be an even greater university for this experience.
Warmest regards,
Lori Rice-Spearman, Ph.D.
Interim President and Provost
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center