By Krizia Williams and Reece Nations
Photo by Krizia Williams.
LUBBOCK, TX – When Madden Baggerly began experiencing coronavirus-like symptoms while living in Chitwood Hall, the responsibility of getting tested was clear to her.
Baggerly, a freshman advertising major from Belton, said she wasted no time in scheduling an appointment with Student Health Services that got her on the phone with a nurse practitioner. After informing the nurse practitioner of her symptoms, they arranged for her to be tested for strep throat, influenza and the novel coronavirus.
Baggerly tested negative for the flu and strep, but ended up receiving a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, she said.
“So after that, student housing contacted me and I let the school know that I tested positive,” Baggerly said. “And they (called) me and they said, ‘Hey, we have a hotel you can stay in. We’ll provide you food through your meal plan.’”
Although Texas Tech officials offered her an isolated space to recover in, Baggerly said she was also told she could return home if she wished to. When she arrived at her hotel room, there was a small bag containing wellness supplies like a thermometer, hand sanitizer, tissue paper and facemasks.
She received a box containing enough food supplies for three days, and would regularly get phone calls from wellness officials checking in on her condition. After staying in her hotel room for four days, she began quarantining off-campus with another friend who had also tested positive for COVID-19.
“I was pretty sick and it was just a super, super long recovery, but for the most part I thought they did a really good job of contacting me,” Baggerly said. “But it was very personal, they all reached out to me and they (asked) me how I felt.”
Photo by Krizia Williams.
Dr. David Edwards, a physician at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and medical director at Student Health Services, said much forethought went into cultivating a safe coronavirus response process.
Sophomore sports management major Adrian Kladzyk said he woke up with a bad cough and felt fatigued after spending time with four other friends and went to get tested positive at a local CVS Pharmacy.
“I had to stay in my room for 10 days in quarantine,” he said.
Kladzyk said when he tested positive he immediately reported it on the TTU dashboard. He said TTU Hospitality and Student Health services reached out to him providing him with food, drinks, and constant checkups.
Photo by Krizia Williams.
“Texas Tech Health Services on campus would reach out to me every two days after I tested positive just to see how I was feeling and if they needed to recommend me anything,” Kladzyk said.
Baggerly and Kladzyk’s experiences are a result of Texas Tech’s Administration’s efforts to effectively allocate resources and assistance in response to the unprecedented pandemic, she said. If a student begins to exhibit symptoms or feels they had a high-risk exposure, the tools are available to them to safely resolve their situation.
“Since the summer, we’ve worked hard to create atmospheres in the classroom, in the laboratory, in the residential life settings, in the commons areas that would be safe,” Edwards said. “And we’ve worked hard to institute public health best practices that would reduce the risk of spread, namely the physical distancing at least six feet from others.”
Photo by Krizia Williams.
Although “strongly encouraged” Edwards said reporting coronavirus symptoms or even a positive diagnosis is not mandatory for Texas Tech students. On-campus COVID-19 testing has been made available to students, faculty and staff through Dec. 9, according to the TTU website.
Appointments are not required for on-site testing, but a student ID is mandatory. Testing is conducted daily from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, in the Helen DeVitt Jones Sculpture Court of the Texas Tech Museum. This testing site is located at 3301 4th Street.
If an individual’s insurance does not cover the cost of the test, the self-pay cost of $40 can be posted to a student’s account through Student Business Services, according to the website.
“The university has worked hard to institute these public health practices to create safe spaces in and on the campus and also to create a symptom monitoring system,” Edwards said. “If someone feels like they may have had a high-risk exposure, they can go to that tool and try to get a sense of what the risk was.”
Photo by Reece Nations.
In the event that there is a positive COVID-19 test, Edwards said students can go to the website and enter the necessary information to receive academic assistance through the Dean of Students, as well as housing and quarantine assistance.
“So general advice would be really continue to abide by that TTU commitment, continue to practice those public health things that will keep you safe and that will keep your friends and your loved ones and your co-workers and even your classmates safe,” he said.
Edwards continued, “You know, we’ve created an environment in which it’s safe to be in the classroom or in the lab or in the Commons areas, but then it’s oftentimes a different set of actions or opportunities outside of the classroom. And so, avoiding mass gatherings, avoiding groups greater than 10, avoiding those situations in which you can be exposed to somebody.”
About Reece Nations, Managing Editor
