Since the beginning of the year, the HSZG has been supporting the health authorities in the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz with personnel.
Working from home, homeschooling and regular rapid tests. The pandemic has found its way into all areas of life and is also opening up new perspectives and challenges in everyday working life. As several employees of the HSZG are currently experiencing.
Since 11.01.2021, our Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences has been supporting the health authorities in the Bautzen and Görlitz districts with Dipl.-Lehrer Frank Schneider, Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Scheibler (both from the University Development and Communication Office) and Dipl.-Sportl. Philipp Knebel from the university administration. Another member of staff is actively involved in the care of coronavirus patients.
At the end of last year, it was 'land under' in the health authorities. There was a lack of staff support, especially in the area of infection tracing. The search for coronavirus contact tracers intensified and so the Ministry of Science asked educational institutions to nominate employees for possible secondments.
"Due to a specific need for support for the health authorities at the Zittau and Bautzen sites, household staff were therefore asked last December to declare their willingness for secondments to the Human Resources and Legal Affairs Department," says Rector Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Kratzsch, describing the initial situation.
No one should be forced to do anything. Instead, we relied on the willingness of our employees. Like that of Dr. Jürgen Scheibler. At the end of June, he will have been working at the Görlitz district health authority for six months.
After the first few days, it became clear that his area of work would be less about contact tracing coronavirus cases and more about analyzing data and compiling statistics and reports, which would then be used by Martina Weber, head of department and second deputy to the district administrator, as a decision-making aid for measures in the district. The statistical processing of data from the hospitals was just as much a focus of his work as the collaboration on strategic projects to improve the health department's ability to act with a view to next fall.
Frank Schneider's work at the HSZG usually focuses on managing the Studium fundamentale. For many years, he has organized the Children's Academy and the Senior College at the university. Until the end of the month, he is supporting the Bautzen health authority with contact tracing. The qualified teacher is helping to document people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their contacts using a software program to help record findings.
When the district had to contend with very high incidences throughout the spring, he didn't hesitate for a moment: "The question arose for me as to where and how I could best serve the people of Upper Lusatia." What experiences will he take with him at the end of his work at the health authority when the 'home' desk and lecture hall of the HSZG call again? "I got to know many things and many people even better," Frank Schneider sums up.
Philipp Knebel, who is responsible for university sports at the HSZG, has been providing his services to the health department in Görlitz since January. "I work in the travel returnees team and am responsible for all entries from abroad into the district of Görlitz," he says of his job.
With all this work, is there still time to make his colleagues at the district office sweat for a change? "There are also health-promoting measures at the district administration office, such as gymnastics during breaks. There are currently no courses due to the pandemic. But as soon as it's possible, I'm supposed to give a few courses at the health department. The requests are piling up with the easing of restrictions."
The average person is said to have gained around five kilograms during the pandemic, including some students and employees. Can this fact be easily blamed on the secondment of the university sports officer?
In April, Philipp Knebel was able to offer the online sports program "Cyberfitness" for free use, as a fitness club to go, so to speak, and since the end of May it has been possible to use the new sports offer 'Sport To Go'. "So there are plenty of ways to beat the pandemic fat."
Since April, university employees have been working a few days a week at their usual workplaces at the university again and will return to full-time work from next month.
Text: Cornelia Rothe M.A.
