START Team

An interdisciplinary group of UK HealthCare physicians and clinical and research leaders at the University of Kentucky — the START (Screening, Testing and Tracing, to Accelerate Restart and Transition) Team — has been meeting for several months to examine the health and safety issues related to reinvented and safe operations for our campus this fall. 

The team was formed to develop strategies to ensure a safe and healthy return to reinvented operations. In addition, the team will advise on optimal hygiene practices that prevent the transmission of COVID-19 within the UK community.

Because this is an ongoing and evolving situation that will require constant evaluation, the START  team will continue to analyze, evaluate and advise the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as evidence changes, treatments emerge and strategies evolve.

START Team

Team Lead: Robert S. DiPaola, Acting Provost; former Dean, College of Medicine

EOC Liaison: Evan Ramsay, Captain, UK Police Department

Susanne Arnold, Associate Director of Clinical Translation, Markey Cancer Center

Becky Dutch, Chair, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

C. Darrell Jennings, Chair, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Jennifer Rose, Chief Administrative Officer, UK HealthCare

Brian Nichols, Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services 

Heather Bush, Acting Dean, College of Public Health

Cliffton M. Iler, Deputy General Counsel, Office of Legal Counsel

Heidi Weiss, Director, Biostatistics Shared Resource Facility

Ian McClure, Executive Director, Office of Technology Commercialization

Derek Forster, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, UK HealthCare

Frank Romanelli, Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science

Jill Kolesar, Professor of Pharmacy and Director of the Precision Medicine Center

John Phillips, Vice President for Ambulatory Services, UK HealthCare

Colleen Swartz, Vice President for Hospital Operations, UK HealthCare