UNMC revises on-campus mask distribution process

Starting Monday, May 18, UNMC will revise its process for distributing masks to employees whose essential duties require them regularly to be on the UNMC campus.

Employees will continue to receive masks through a more flexible ordering and delivery process.

Requests now will be accepted any day of the week, processed by staff in the Center for Healthy Living (CFHL) and delivered the following day by mail services to their respective campus mail stop. Requests should be made by 10 a.m. to ensure next-day delivery. In the past, requests had to be submitted by a specified date and time, and then picked up by a designee during specified hours.

“This change will allow us to be more efficient and also provide for greater flexibility, especially as we plan for the day when more employees return to campus,” said Robert Jennings, director of procurement and materials management in Business & Finance. “We appreciate the Center for Healthy Living and Mail Services staff in making this change possible.”

UNMC’s stay-at-home directive has been extended until June 1; revising the procedure now will allow for necessary adjustments before a larger number of employees return to campus. Faculty, staff, students and visitors on a UNMC campus are required to wear a mask unless they are alone in a room, such as a lab or office.

Requests should continue to be submitted by a supervisor, manager, or faculty member by completing the mask request form. Distribution of masks is for employees who require regular access to campus (more than 24 hours cumulative per week) in primarily non-clinical areas. Request will continue to be limited to one request every two weeks.

The following information must be included: Names of essential personnel who need masks in your lab, office or workspace location and the campus ZIP for delivery of the request.

If a mask is needed due to the delivered quantity not being sufficient, the CFHL will be staffed from 9 to 11 a.m. daily in case a mask needs to be picked up. Individuals needing a mask would need to go to the front doors of the CFHL and follow the directions posted on the door to receive a mask.

Employees at UNMC’s statewide divisions should continue to contact the appropriate representative listed below to secure a mask:

• College of Allied Health Professions – Kearney (Teresa Cochran)
• College of Dentistry – Gering (Lisa Moravec)
• College of Dentistry – Lincoln (Jim Gamerl)
• College of Nursing – Kearney (Cathrin Carithers)
• College of Nursing – Lincoln (Tom Mason)
• College of Nursing – Norfolk (Liane Connelly)
• College of Nursing – Scottsbluff (Kelly Betts)

Employees with regular access to clinical spaces should continue to obtain masks at the Nebraska Medicine checkpoints at the main entrances of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, the Durham Outpatient Center or Clarkson Tower.

Employees who do not regularly access clinical spaces and only intermittently visit campus for essential duties should follow the same process listed above for Nebraska Medicine checkpoints.