WWU opens respiratory clinic for students in case of ‘future spikes’ of COVID-19
Western Washington University has opened a temporary respiratory clinic for students as part of its COVID-19 response.
The clinic’s opening reveals part of the university’s plan as it transitions back to more normal operations, when its roughly 16,100 students will once again gather for classes in-person, which officials hope will be in the fall pending Gov. Jay Inslee’s decisions around the state’s stay-at-home order.
“It only will be in use during the pandemic and for future spikes, if those occur. And while the respiratory clinic will be temporary, we have to plan for this site to be in operation into the next academic year when many other campus spaces will be occupied again,” Paul Cocke, the university’s spokesman, said of the respiratory clinic, which opened Tuesday, April 28.
Referred to as the Student Health Center Annex, the clinic also will be used only for students with respiratory symptoms that are more difficult to assess by telehealth, the university said. The clinic will be open a couple of hours a day Monday through Friday by appointment.
Western shifted classes online starting March 11 to ensure social distancing to curb illness caused by the new coronavirus.
Most students have moved off the Bellingham campus. Still, 365 students remain in the residence halls.
“Normally, there are about 4,000,” Cocke said.
Of those living on campus, nearly 20 are international students.
Others remain because they have no other home but the residence halls, have a bad home situation or aren’t accepted at home for who they are, according to Cocke.
As for the respiratory clinic, some had expressed concern, because of its proximity to other employees, that the space would be used to test people for the new coronavirus.
“This is not a COVID-19 testing center. No testing will be done at the respiratory clinic,” Cocke said.
Students who need one will be sent to Northwest Laboratory, which is off campus, for drive-thru testing.
The clinic is on the first floor of the Campus Services Building. That same floor houses University Police and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
The Student Health Center is on the second floor in the same building.
And while the clinic is on the first floor, it’s in the space once occupied by the lock shop and is separated from the rest of the building, according to the university. It also has a separate entrance.
To deal with the risk posed by COVID-19, an infectious respiratory illness, the clinic also is in a part of the building that has a dedicated heating, ventilation and air conditioning system that vents directly out to the roof, according to the university.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is passed from person to person, with those within six feet of each other at greatest risk, through respiratory droplets when someone coughs, sneezes or talks, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Studies are trying to determine whether COVID-19 also can be spread through small droplets, called aerosols, that can remain airborne.
“This system will be able to circulate air in a manner that is similar to, or better than, the negative pressure rooms in the primary Student Health Center,” Cocke said.
Negative-pressure rooms are used in hospitals, medical centers and clinics to prevent airborne transmission of a disease from room to room.
As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County was nearing 300, with 28 deaths.
