The-Laker-Issue3-Fall-2020

Coping with COVID-19 beyond the campus As the scope of the pandemic became evident, FLCC realized it had resources to help the community fight the illness and cope with the disorienting shift in everyday life. With buildings locked and minimal staff, FLCC had personal protective equipment it wasn’t using. The Nursing Department donated isolation gowns, gloves and masks to Thompson Hospital. The offices of Student Health Services and Environmental Health and Safety gave protective gear to Ontario County Public Health to distribute to area hospitals. The donation included N95 masks, surgical masks and face shields. Finger Lakes TV, based at the main campus, used its ability to broadcast live on cable channel 1304 to help county Public Health provide regular updates and advice to local residents. Each session was recorded for sharing on the station’s archive and the Public Health website. The College also reached out to K-12 schools. John Bateman, instructor of environmental conservation, made science videos for Village Elementary School in Hilton. He had begun volunteering there while his twin sons attended, offering ecology lessons and leading field trips. When COVID-19 stopped his in-person visits, he switched to making videos on his phone. In one video, John filmed himself at a local creek, modeling how to catch crayfish and other aquatic critters. Within a day of sharing the video, a Hilton teacher started receiving pictures from students showing what they had caught using techniques John had demonstrated. As it became evident that high schools would need to provide online learning in the fall, FLCC invited schools to free online training in July and August. More than 100 teachers from 22 districts took part in sessions on best practices in remote learning. Recordings were made available to anyone who could not attend live. FLCC’s reach even extended downstate with online training for home health aides in New York City and Long Island so they could fill a critical need for nurse assistants in COVID-19 units. The Service Employees International Union hired the College to provide the training based on its reputation for online education and experience training certified nurse assistants in the Finger Lakes region. “As soon as we heard from SEIU, our team went to work, shortening what is normally a 16-week course development process down to two weeks,” said FLCC President Robert Nye. “We were so pleased that we were able to fill a need during a crisis.” 10 | the LAKER campus happenings FLCC conservation instructor John Bateman filmed ecology lessons for local elementary students during the early weeks of the shutdown. Read more about him in the FLCC Forward blog at forward.csc.flcc.edu/inquiry/crayfish. Jake Smith shared this photo of his daughter, Lucy, demonstrating the techniques she learned in John Bateman’s virtual lesson.