Environmental Health and Safety

Six ways U of T plans to keep students, faculty and staff safe on campus this fall

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 14:07:11 +0000

Six ways U of T plans to keep students, faculty and staff safe on campus this fall

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 06/16/2020 - 10:07

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In busy areas where maintaining a two-metre distance from others isn’t possible, or is challenging, the university will assess and install protective measures such as Plexiglass barriers and sneeze guards (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Coronavirus

Environmental Health and Safety

Graduate Students

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

Undergraduate Students

The ��Ƶ is implementing a number of changes on campus to ensure the U of T’s community’s safety in advance of the fall semester.

As the world continues to grapple with COVID-19, new and returning students will see signs promoting good hand hygiene and other safe practices across U of T’s three campuses, as well as new sanitizer dispensers. To encourage physical distancing, students, faculty, librarians and staff will also encounter re-arranged classrooms, shared offices, libraries, teaching labs and other spaces.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, U of T will be taking additional steps to clean and disinfect public areas.

“We are working tirelessly to provide a safe environment for everyone who uses our campuses, so that they feel comfortable returning to learn, teach and work,” says Ron Saporta, U of T’s chief operating officer, property services and sustainability.

The health and safety measures are just one component of the university’s extensive planning for the fall semester, which is focused on three broad themes: promoting health and safety, advancing academic excellence and meeting the needs of the university community.

As it goes about preparing the campuses, Saporta says U of T is adhering to evidence-based guidelines released by the province of Ontario and the federal government. “As always, we will be keeping a close eye on public health guidelines to ensure our policies and practices are up-to-date,” he says.

Here are six ways U of T plans to keep the university community safe and healthy this fall:

Physical distancing

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Until a vaccine is developed, health experts say physical distancing is one of the most effective weapons in the fight against COVID-19. As a result, a number of initiatives will be implemented, including setting up classrooms so that students can sit at least two metres apart from one another and making changes in residences and co-curricular spaces to allow for physical distancing. There may also be dedicated entrances and exits to encourage a one-way flow of traffic and restrictions on the maximum number of people allowed in a particular space.

Signage

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Starting this fall, be on the lookout for signage across campus that encourages and instructs everyone to practise physical distancing and proper hand hygiene.

There will also be signs indicating maximum occupancy in meeting rooms and elevators, and signs that direct the flow of foot traffic – not unlike those used by retailers.

More frequent cleaning and disinfecting

Libraries and classrooms will be cleaned five times per week, while surfaces that people often come into contact with, including elevator buttons and doorknobs, will be disinfected twice a day in keeping with Public Health Ontario guidelines.

Caretaking staff are using a new, chlorine-based solution approved for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Sanitizing stations

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

The university plans to install thousands of hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipe dispensers across the three campuses so that people can easily disinfect their hands and also high-touch surfaces. Each dispenser will be touchless and installed at an accessible height in visible locations.

“We’re trying to empower and enable users of spaces to be able to disinfect shared surfaces and spaces that they use, whether it’s a desk or door handle or armrest,” says Anna Kulikov, U of T’s senior manager, business improvement and strategic initiatives, facilities and services.

Protective measures

Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) is conducting assessments across U of T’s three campuses to ensure that adequate physical distancing measures are in place.

In busy areas where maintaining a two-metre distance from others isn’t possible, or is challenging, the university will assess and install where appropriate protective measures such as Plexiglass barriers and sneeze guards. Gina Trubiani, U of T’s director of occupational health and safety-EHS, says the measures may be set up in high-traffic areas such as campus clinic settings, the TCard office and other places where many people could come into close contact.

Masks

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

As of July 7*, anyone in an indoor space at U of T that is normally publicly accessible will be required to wear masks or face coverings when measures such as physical barriers are not available. This includes hallways, lobbies, elevators and other common use facilities.

Exemptions are provided for people with underlying medical conditions that inhibit their ability to wear masks and individuals in areas that are not intended for public use. Masks may also be removed when taking part in athletic or fitness activities and in situations where wearing a mask impedes delivery and receiving of services.

U of T will provide about 250,000 non-medical, fabric face masks to students, staff, faculty and librarians (two per person). The university will also determine whether community members should be provided with the appropriate medical masks (N95 masks, surgical masks etc.) when working in specific environments like research labs or health-care settings. Employees conducting assigned work where an EHS assessment determines that personal protective equipment is required will be provided with the appropriate masks based on an assessment of risk.

Read about the new measure

See a Q & A with Vivek Goel about masks

Please visit this FAQ for more information

U of T introduces service animals guideline to support people with disabilities on campus

Romi Levine — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:47:36 +0000

U of T introduces service animals guideline to support people with disabilities on campus

Romi Levine Thu, 09/05/2019 - 11:47

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Emma, a two-year-old yellow lab, is a hearing ear dog guide for U of T student Peter Stelmacovich (photo by Romi Levine)

Romi Levine

Topic

Our Community

Environmental Health and Safety

Kelly Hannah-Moffat

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

Accessibility

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Graduate Students

Human Resources & Equity

Mental Health

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

The ��Ƶ is working to ensure it’s a welcoming place for people with disabilities and their service animals.

A new service animals guideline has been created by U of T in compliance with the provincial government’s Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) to help the university community gain a better understanding of how best to support and accommodate people with service animals.

The guideline put the AODA requirements regarding service animals in the context of the university environment. It answers questions people may have about what qualifies as a service animal, where service animals are allowed on the three campuses, including in residences, and how to create an environment where service animals and their owners feel included.

“The ��Ƶ strives to create a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for students, staff and faculty with disabilities,” says Vice-President of Human Resources & Equity Kelly Hannah-Moffat.

For Peter Stelmacovich, an inclusive learning environment has been vital to his academic success.

Stelmacovich has a cochlear implant, which helps him to hear, but when the device is turned off overnight, Emma, a spritely two-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, is there to alert him to important sounds.

“The main thing for me at night is having a reliable way to wake up and the peace of mind knowing that I've got somebody listening for me,” says Stelmacovich, who will be graduating in November with a Master of Health Science from the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

During the day, Emma helps Stelmacovich discern the location of a sound, particularly if someone is calling his name.

“She will first figure out where the sound is coming from and then she'll jump up at me and take me to where somebody is,” he says.

Emma can recognize and alert Stelmacovich to a number of other sounds, including smoke detectors, door bells, alarm clocks – and his son knocking on the front door at 3 a.m. when he forgets his keys.

Stelmacovich and Emma, his service dog. "If something happens, I know I've got a dog watching over me," he says (photo by Romi Levine)

U of T, Stelmacovich says, has “been very accommodating to all of my needs.”

He adds that the new service animals guideline will help increase awareness on campus about the animals who can accompany people with disabilities.

U of T collaborated with members of the university community when creating the guideline, including Stelmacovich and other students.

Under the new guideline, members of the U of T community can choose to register their service animal with the university. This is an optional process offered to students by the accessibility service office on each campus, and to staff and faculty through Health & Well-being Programs and Services. Owners of the service animal will receive an updated TCard with a symbol confirming the registration.

Service animals like Emma are easy to spot because they are wearing a special harness or vest, but not all animals in support roles are as identifiable. For an animal to be considered a service animal, the handler must have documentation from one of the regulated health professionals outlined in the guideline. But the guideline states this documentation should only be requested by staff and faculty when absolutely necessary, particularly for health and safety or operational reasons.

As the university works to address student mental health on all three campuses, the service animals guideline also raises awareness about the use of animals for emotional support, recognizing that students may have service animals for invisible disabilities.

While service animals are allowed most places on campus, including residences, there are locations where they may not be permitted, including spaces where food is prepared, packaged or handled, although service animals are permitted in places such as cafeterias where food is served and sold.

Other locations where service animals could raise safety concerns include some labs and medical clinics. The guideline says the AODA Office and the Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) should be consulted on whether to restrict service animals from certain locations.

In general, Hannah-Moffat says the university is committed to creating an atmosphere of inclusion for U of T community members and their service animals, and will strive to make sure individuals’ needs are met.

“The service animals guideline is an important part of our commitment to treat every member of the U of T community with dignity and respect,” she says.

Environmental Health and Safety

Six ways U of T plans to keep students, faculty and staff safe on campus this fall

Physical distancing

Signage

More frequent cleaning and disinfecting

Sanitizing stations

Protective measures

Masks

Read about the new measure

See a Q & A with Vivek Goel about masks

Read more about masks on the FAQ page

Please visit this FAQ for more information

U of T introduces service animals guideline to support people with disabilities on campus