The Current | Vol. 31 Issue 20

February 2, 2021 | nsucurrent.nova.edu 5 Features Gill Out: The Namu: Korean kitchen & izakaya A Q&A with COVID-19 case managers PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY J. WILSON Dinner plates at The Namu. The Namu 10317 Royal Palm Blvd Coral Springs, FL 33065 $$ At one point in time, I was getting a bit tired of the mainstream restaurants that seemed to become the staple of how I spent my Saturday nights. I was in the mood to eat something different and more local. I wanted to visit a restaurant that had a different vibe and had foods that I’d actually be eager to try. Thankfully, I found a Korean restaurant called The Namu. I went with one of my closest friends, and we were so eager to try Korean food for the first time. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot and exited the car, we smelled the delicious aroma of the food inside. It smelled incredible. The restaurant itself was split into two different sections. One section was a more family-friendly dining area with more subtle decoration and the other section was a bar that looked like it was more for a night out with friends. My friend and I sat at the bar and the decor was amazing. It had posters of Korean and Japanese singers and movies. It also had really pretty lighting with red and green LED lamps. There was K-pop music playing in the As the fight against COVID-19 continues to hold its place at the forefront of public concern, universities across the country, including NSU, are working around the clock to try to develop and implement the best prevention — and management — strategies. COVID-19 case managers work behind the scenes and with members of the community one-on-one to help guide them through cases and exposures from the time it’s reported to resolution. NSU’s COVID-19 case managers, Jackie Pho and Taylor Newsome, students in the masters of public health program, and Aleah Ally, a student in the masters of science in pharmaceutical affairs program, shared some insight about their experiences in this position with The Current. What does a COVID-19 case manager do? “It’s not simply contact tracing, which most people have probably heard of, where you go and find who somebody has been in close contact with to see who else we need to reach out to in order to give them recommendations. A case manager does that as well as connects students to resources and services on campus that can help them get through their quarantine or isolation,” said Pho. Could you run through what managing a case of COVID-19 entails? “Once a student reports to us, it’s populated in a spreadsheet that we have. It’s divided into whether you’re a graduate or undergraduate student, whether you’re in isolation or quarantine — isolation is for someone who is COVID-19 positive and quarantine is just for someone who has symptoms or has been exposed. Once they’re populated in our spreadsheet, one of us is assigned their case and we contact them, usually through text, and introduce ourselves, tell them who we are and what we’re going to background and K-pop stand-up posters in the corners of the bar. (My friend and I are K-pop fans, so we really liked the decor). The menu had several meals to choose from that represented Korean and Asian fusion cuisine. We ordered a series of items just so we could say we’ve tried them. We ordered seafood tteokbokki, chicken fried rice, pajeon and black bean noodles, but our favorite was the Korean fried chicken. We ordered the super spicy flavor and it was amazing. It had a lot of flavor and it filled us up pretty quickly. One thing about The Namu’s food is that it’s a bit pricey. However, the portions are enormous, so you’re getting a good amount of food for the amount you’re spending. All the food we ordered came out to about $75, but it was so worth it. All the food was freshly made and it was a pleasant first experience with Korean cuisine. Overall, the food was amazing and the service was excellent. The employees made us feel welcome and our waiter basically became our friend by the end of our stay -- he was so nice. The Namu was a great place to eat and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a satisfactory place to eat Korean food. be doing,” said Newsome. Additionally, Newsome explained that the case managers check up on their assigned cases, taking note of their symptoms and how they’re doing and connecting them to resources to help them during their isolation or quarantine. The case managers continue to contact the individuals until their case is resolved and they are deemed ready to go back to campus. Is there anything rewarding about this position or any large takeaways? “It’s very easy for us to just look at these spreadsheets where all the cases get uploaded and feel like they’re just names and numbers, and whenever the date comes up [for their case to be resolved], we can check them off, but each person is a real living human being on the other end of that phone call or text message. Just being able to see their progress as they go from having these symptoms to getting better, and then we can both celebrate when they’re cleared and COVID-19 free — that’s really rewarding,” explained Pho Is there anything you want to tell the students at NSU, or anyone reading this, about COVID-19? “The only way that we’re going to stop this and move forward is if we can stop the spread— and the biggest way to do that is to report so that we can support students through their isolation and quarantine,” said Newsome. “We’re here to help everyone who fills out the forms. We’re here to provide resources for them in any way. We just want everybody to be safe and to quarantine and isolate when you do report on these forms. We’re just trying to keep you all safe and to discontinue the spread of COVID-19 on [and off] campus,” added Ally. “This isn’t a punishment—we’re not trying to penalize you for reporting or saying that you have symptoms or that you’ve been exposed. We’re just trying to keep the community safe and we want to help you get through it as easily and as quickly as possible,” said Pho. For more questions and answers with NSU’s COVID-19 case managers, visit nsucurrent.nova.edu. If a student is having any symptoms, they are advised to reach out to NSU’s Telehealth line at (954) 262-4100, where they will be connected to a physician who will review their symptoms and, if needed, schedule a COVID-19 test on campus. Additionally, students can email COVIDcase@nova.edu to provide updates on their symptoms and test results, even if the results are still pending, and to get assigned a COVID-19 case manager to oversee the situation and offer assistance, if necessary. Emailing COVIDcase will also immediately provide students with the Telehealth number, as well as links to employee and graduate/ professional student report forms, the undergraduate student form and the form to report exposures. Students, staff and faculty can visit NSU’s dedicated website, www.nova.edu/coronavirus, for up to date information regarding COVID-19 at the university. By: Jaden Wilson Contributing Writer PRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY A. Ally, T. Newsome, & J. Pho Covid-19 Case Managers A. Ally (top-left), T. Newsome(top-right),and J. Pho (bottom) By: Madelyn Rinka Co-Editor-in-Chief