New UIC Healthcheck tool supports campus safety protocols

As Illinois prepared to enter Phase 3 of the Restore Illinois plan at the end of May, UIC’s College of Pharmacy began exploring ways to more easily comply with guidance in monitoring the health and ensure the safety of its employees as they began to return to campus.

The college began to look for products that could help them audit and assess who was working on campus and ensure that it was meeting the wellness criteria established by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The Pharmacy team chose to utilize Qualtrics, the university’s current web-based platform for creating, publishing and analyzing survey data.

The college’s IT team also reached out to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Services’ (OVCAS) Technology and Building Systems group for assistance in integrating building access, exception reporting and notifications within the tool that they were developing. The result was a strong collaboration between the two organizations and the creation of UIC Healthcheck, a web-based daily self-check and screening tool that is now live and being used by the entire UIC community.

The UIC Healthcheck tool enables employees to report their personal temperature and complete a brief survey about wellness factors online. After submitting that information, employees can use their i-card to gain access to the building in which they work. The tool also provides verification that they have completed the survey through a Daily Admit Pass that can be displayed to a supervisor.

If an employee enters a building without using UIC Healthcheck or “fails” the survey of wellness factors, the tool sends an email alert to the employee’s supervisor. The employee also receives a warning email if they do not use UIC Healthcheck before entering the building.

If an employee completes the wellness survey and reports a high temperature or any COVID-19 symptoms, the tool notifies University Health Services and the unit’s HR team.

“UIC Healthcheck is fully aligned to the Phase 4 protocols of the Restore Illinois plan and current UIC safety guidance,” said John Coronado, vice chancellor for administrative services. “We were pleased to work with the College of Pharmacy on this important initiative that ultimately produced a good tool to keep the UIC community safe as staff, faculty and students return to campus.”

Pharmacy Dean Glen Schumock is equally pleased with the collaboration by the college and OVCAS.  “The College of Pharmacy is happy that the online screening tool we initiated has proven effective and that its use has expanded to the whole campus.”

To access UIC Healthcheck, visit healthcheck.uic.edu.