In the face of a global pandemic, Daemen University’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) worked diligently to provide, implement and maintain a thorough plan – complete with accessible resources, and robust procedures – to help protect students and all Daemen University community members.

The ERT’s efforts have helped keep active cases minimal and prevent the spread of Covid-19.

In fact, Daemen generally had a positive rate of less than a half percent at its Amherst, NY campus with a population of around 3,000 individuals.

“As the premier health educator in Western New York, Daemen takes a proactive approach to public health,” said Dr. Greg Nayor, vice president for strategic initiatives at Daemen University. “Our systems and structures have allowed us to stay ahead of this crisis, listen to the science, and create an environment where students are not only safe, but where they can also still have a college experience.”

Nayor explained that the structure for responding to crises Daemen had in place was a key component to keeping campus safe.

The university’s ERT meets and trains regularly using an Incident Command System (ICS).

“ICS has allowed us to respond to this crisis across campus and across typical reporting hierarchies to be nimble, flexible, and aggressive in our response. A key component of that is communication. By communicating our planning process, policies, and processes early and often, we were able to ensure that people knew what to expect and how the university was responding,” Nayor said.

One extremely valuable communication tool for those interested in Daemen’s response is the Emergency Management Plan. The section of the Daemen.edu website features several informative pages on topics related to Daemen’s response, designed in a convenient and user-friendly format to understand the institution’s coordinated approach.

Here are some important tools to reference:

Covid-19 Dashboard

The Covid-19 Dashboard is frequently updated to keep campus community members informed about the general health and well-being of the campus community during this crisis. The page features information on the number of tests conducted as well as any current active cases that have been identified. Transparency is key to ensure that all of the Daemen community stays informed with up to date information and statistics.

Daemen Preparedness

This webpage serves as the official source of information on Covid-19 and its impact on Daemen University. The university provides updates related to its operation as they become available. This information helps our community members keep up to date with any changes and allows them to prepare and adjust accordingly.

Response Timeline

This step-by-step timeline outlines the collective coronavirus response since January, noting key milestones. This helps keep the Daemen community informed and educate them on how and why procedures and protocol formed and exist.

Additional Information Sections

Additional pages are dedicated to providing information for students, faculty, employees, visitors, and more. These pages help sort information that particularly pertains to certain groups within our community and beyond.

Overall, having a thorough and outward-facing base of information on our website has helped ensure our community is well-informed. It also serves as a convenient checkpoint to monitor the current situation related to this unprecedented pandemic as well as how the university is doing it’s part to increase the safety and protection of its community members.

“When students and their families are making that big decision on where to go, it is important to know that the university is working together with a universal system for managing and responding to a crisis. And that is what Daemen has done – our ERT continues to meet three times per week to allow us to stay on top of the situation, keep people safe, and prepare for vaccinations.”