MSU appoints physician, emergency operations professional

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 8/12/20

Montana State University has announced that Dr. Kathy Jutila, director of the Division of Health Sciences and Hayley Gerow, MSU director of emergency management, will work together to serve as campus coordinators for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. This effort is a part of the university’s response to COVID-19-related campus preparations and follows Gov. Steve Bullock’s $20 million package to assist in efforts to slow the spread of the virus. MSU will also hire up to five staff members dedicated to contact tracing efforts trained by the Gallatin City-County Health Department.

“I can’t stress enough how important it will be for students to cooperate with our contact tracing efforts,” Jutila said. “We’re all in this together. To slow the spread of the virus we need to be able to reach close contacts and have them self-quarantine. It’s a critical part to the success of public health, not just for MSU but for the county, state and nation.”