‘We Remain Resilient’: A Q&A With COVID-19 Task Force Chairs

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Task force chairs Lisa Adams and Josh Keniston talk with Dartmouth Alumni Magazine.

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COVID-19 Task Force co-chairs
Photos courtesy of Dartmouth Alumni Magazine
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Read the full story, by Sean Plottner, published by Dartmouth Alumni Magazine.

Dartmouth’s coronavirus task force is co-chaired by Lisa Adams, MED ’90, director of global initiatives and an associate professor of medicine in the section of infectious disease and international health at the Geisel School of Medicine, and Josh Keniston, interim vice president of campus services and vice president for institutional projects. DAM recently connected with the pair to discuss—via Zoom—the continuing crisis.

How are you?

Lisa Adams: I recently heard someone say, “Oh, I’m pandemic good,” and I think that applies. We’re “pandemic fine.”

Are you self-isolating at home?

Josh Keniston: For the most part. There are occasions when I need to be on campus. We still have about 250 students there, and we have faculty who are still on campus to prepare for remote learning.

LA: I’m pretty much able to stay at home. I set up my own incident command in the living room.

How did you find yourselves so lucky to be appointed to the task force?

JK: We were “volun-told,” I think. (Laughs.) My role with campus services means I oversee on a day-to-day basis a lot of the operational things that are impacted by this. It seems like years ago now, but when the task force was stood up, Joe Helbe, the provost, was looking at the key things we’re going to need to understand as this evolves. So my role is to coordinate the operational stuff, and Lisa keeps us tapped in on the healthcare side.

LA: I’m the one trying to follow the epidemiology and students who may need to self-quarantine because they’ve been exposed or because of recent travel or self-isolate because they’re ill. I’ve been working with the College health services team in managing those patients as well. Occasionally I’m the link to Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital and the N.H. Health Department.

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