University of San Diego, Hahn School of Nursing COVID-19 Screening Station

Christopher Manaois
Faculty advisor: Dr. Brenda Boone
Background:
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic which resulted in 125
million infections and 3.2 million deaths, worldwide. The disease is easily spread by direct
contact or droplets that affect an individual’s respiratory system. Common symptoms are fever,
cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell- that occur usually around 14 days. Contact
tracing is the identification, motoring and support of contacts who have been exposed to
COVID-19. Contact tracing is an effective tool to mitigate transmission and infection.
Project purpose:
The purpose of this project was to develop a COVID-19 screening station for the University of
San Diego, Hahn School of Nursing (SON). There are unique considerations for SON faculty,
staff, and students as they have the potential to be exposed to COVID-19 infected patients in a
clinical setting. This project was in preparation for the proposed campus reopening for the Fall
2020 semester after the closure of campus in March 2020.
Project approach:
The temperature screening station in place in the Hahn University Center was visited,
documented, and analyzed. It was found that the system in place is efficient. However, some
potential improvement points were noted and expanded in order to fit the unique needs of SON
faculty/staff/students.
Outcomes/metric categories compared:
After studying the existing screening station process and the considerations of SON
faculty/staff/students, a contactless symptom questionnaire was proposed. Compared to paper
forms, this proposal would enable faculty/staff/students to complete the symptom questionnaire
prior to physical arrival to the station. Responses, when submitted are recorded into the database
along with staff/student information. Additionally, advanced thermal scans that are compatible
can be used so temperature data populate into the data sheet. Data from basic thermal scan
devices can be used by manually inputting the recorded temperature.
Discussion:
The Yeungnam University Hospital in Korea which sees about 3000 patients daily has utilized a
mobile preliminary questionnaire to address COVID-19 infection. The solution reduced patient-
to-patient infection and contact with hospital staff. The data inputted were stored in the hospital
database.
The proposed project can aid the SON to mitigate paper use, clustering of faculty/staff/students
accessing the building, limit person-to-person and direct contact, and store information which
can be used for contact tracing, if needed.
Next steps/opportunities:
The proposed SON COVID-19 screening station was a possible solution to monitor infection
symptoms of faculty, staff and students who mean to gain access into the department spaces. The
University opted to continue screening in a consistent manner across the whole campus.
Although the University did not adopt this project’s screening option for the SON, they did adopt
an online query that incorporated questions that acknowledged the uniqueness of the situations
for the faculty, staff, and students of the SON.
 References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Interim Guidance on Developing a COVID-
19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan: Overview. COVID-19.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing/contact-tracing-
plan/overview.html.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Symptoms of Coronavirus. COVID-19.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html.
Hur, J., & Chang, M. C. (2020). Usefulness of an online preliminary questionnaire under the
COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Medical Systems, 44, 1-2.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-020-01586-7
Johns Hopkins University. (2021). COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and
Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Johns Hopkins Coronavirus
Resource Center. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.
Rothan, H. A., & Byrareddy, S. N. (2020). The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus
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Ruebush, E., Fraser, M. R., Poulin, A., Allen, M., Lane, J. T., & Blumenstock, J. S. (2021).
COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing: early lessons learned and future
opportunities. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 27(1), S87-S97.