Covid-19 is not something that HOSA knew was going to happen, but something they still reacted to by putting up posters, informing students through announcements, and explaining how to stay safe even when students felt fear.

HOSA, standing for Health Occupations Students of America, is an international career and technical student organization endorsed by the U.S.. A-West has one of these chapters, filled with students who want to become health professionals.

“We have been asked to make different posters such as informational posters as well as posters that say how to take precautions when dealing with Covid-19,” explains Kaitlyn Luyk, the president of A-West’s HOSA chapter.

HOSA covers a wide variety of groups that cover health concerns and professions such as the PMT (pre-medical team) and America Achieves. They also compete at events such as HOSA SLC and have a list of awards and accomplishments from just this year. With all of the experience and knowledge out of the way, the Covid-19 outbreak was just another test for the wide variety of skills HOSA covers.

“We were also asked to make a Public Service announcement video. Currently, we are trying to create this PSA collaboratively from our homes and send it to someone who will stitch it together,” says Luyk in response to the tasks that HOSA is doing to deal with Covid-19.

Jordan Whittington, the adviser for the HOSA group at A-West, explains that the students have done things to inform peers about the outbreak, such as how to stay safe and smart, getting their messages across using things such as posters that are hung up around the school. 

“I’m just here to make sure they’re staying safe and just to keep things organized” explains Whittington. “They’re the ones pushing that passion in them.”

Putting up posters with general guidelines is not the only thing the group did. Whittington explains that the group worked hard to research and find the correct information to not worry students and give reliable information.

“They took their information and then they corresponded to make sure that it matched Jeffco’s and the CDC’s,” says Whittington.

Luyk explains that the group was also taking precautions in response to the outbreak before remote learning was instituted. “We were going to do a supply drive (hand sanitizer, Clorox, Lysol, tissue boxes, etc.) however it would have been difficult to do, being that none of these supplies are in any stores right now. We also were trying to get this information out in a way that would not cause people to panic.”

Luyk goes on to explain that their goal is to educate students on what the Coronavirus is and how to stay safe, instead of giving them misconceptions and fear about the virus. 

“Keeping people calm during times like this can go a long way when things like COVID-19 is so prominent in the news, and the world around us, [it] helps so students are not living in fear.”

Overall, Luyk emphasizes that students should not rely on everything they hear, and should be getting trustworthy information, something the group is trying to spread more of. “We believe this will be effective because it shows what we can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, clear up any myths about the COVID-19 that may be causing people to panic, and show that we can get through this together without living in fear.”