MIDDLEBURY — This past weekend Middlebury College and Porter Medical Center announced preliminary plans to house some hospital staff on the college campus during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are working closely with Middlebury College operational leaders to identify appropriate housing for (Porter Medical Center) employees in high-risk areas who are working with our most vulnerable patients,” wrote Porter officials in a March 27 newsletter. “In the very near future we will be able to place staff who are interested in this housing option.”
Housing would be provided for a small number of Porter employees while also maximizing the safety of all members of the college community, said Middlebury College President Laurie Patton in a campus-wide email Sunday.
Details of the plan were expected to be finalized early this week, according to college spokesperson Sarah Ray.
The partnership was one of several that Patton highlighted in her email update this weekend.
The college is also working with town and county entities to address the economic impacts of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
In addition, college dining services has been providing food for a number of local charities, and the college has developed a protocol for community requests and for information-sharing among college, town and hospital officials, Patton said.
Members of the college community looking for ways to help the town of Middlebury are encouraged to contact the United Way of Addison County and the Better Middlebury Partnership.