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COVID Investigator, Columbia County

Nursing

Portland Magazine

Alumni

February 17, 2021

Andrew LafrenzUP’s resident epidemiologist—Andrew Lafrenz ’02—has been working seven days a week since April. Not only is he directing the School of Nursing’s newest major in integrative health and wellness studies, but he has also been offering his expertise to local entities during the pandemic.

“I’ve been working on the COVID team in Columbia County, which includes my hometown of Scappoose, OR, since April,” he says. “Before I was hired, they only had one disease investigator for the entire county; it was clear they were going to get overwhelmed. I was working seven-day weeks on county COVID investigations until the UP fall semester started, so now I lead the weekends for the county.”

Because of privacy concerns Lafrenz can only share general observations about COVID outbreaks in Columbia County. “Every week there’s a class-sized workplace outbreak,” he says. “There’s almost always a construction site or a fast food place. We see a lot of police and first responder outbreaks because the correctional department is just inundated. COVID goes through the prisons and the jails, affecting inmates, correctional officers, and transport.”

He has also brought his knowledge about COVID to his teaching and scholarship at UP. He recently presented “The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on College Students’ Mental Well-Being and Physical Activity Levels” at the Oregon Public Health Association annual conference, and he integrates his county work with his teaching. “It’s really interesting work that I can bring into the classes I teach at UP, and it’s helpful for the School of Nursing to have someone embedded in these outbreaks. As a researcher I’m doing the safest work you can with COVID. I don’t have risk exposure like nurses and doctors, so they’re doing the real work.”