March 16, 2020
Dear Members of the Baylor College of Medicine Community,
In these extraordinary times of the pandemic COVID-19, I wanted to thank you for taking this situation very seriously. It is critical that every student, trainee, staff member, faculty member and College leader support the containment strategy that the city, the county and our medical leaders are espousing. This mitigation strategy is the best approach to managing the spread of this virus.
The College has been making critically important decisions that affect every member of our community. These have come through the Incident Command Center and cover a variety of topics. Many may seem disruptive, but all are made with the best information we have and in the best interests of our internal as well as our external communities. It does the community no good if we practice these safe strategies on campus and forget them when we leave. We should not be in close quarters or with crowds of people.
We are an academic health care institution, and regardless of your role at Baylor, you represent our values. We all should be models for others, in our homes, with the public and on social media.
I know it is a difficult time, an unprecedented time. Let’s all make good decisions.
Paul Klotman, M.D.
President, CEO
Executive Dean