Covid-19 Information
Over the last few months, we have learned a tremendous amount—about ourselves and what we value most; about our school community and its resilience; about our state, nation and world.
This plan is the result of months of work across all divisions and departments of the school, is guided by recommendations from medical professionals and governmental agencies, and reflects the guiding principles. Our plan also reflects that much is changing and will continue to change. Therefore, we have incorporated maximum flexibility to transition seamlessly to alternate models should the need arise. That could mean a shift to remote learning at a moment’s notice or it could mean expanding the in-person school day should it become practicable.
Saliva Screening Results
Collection Date: February 25, 2021
Total Tests: 609
Presumptive Positives: 0
See our COVID-19 Dashboard for more information.
Guiding Principles
PRIORITY #1
Prioritizing student, faculty, staff and family health, safety and wellbeing.
PRIORITY #2
Delivering a powerful, connected learning experience for students with a strong preference for face-to-face learning.
PRIORITY #3
Shaping our policies and practices based on data, research and up-to-date guidance from local, state and national agencies, with medical experts.
PRIORITY #4
Providing consistency and predictability for students, faculty, staff and families.
COVID-19 Resources & Updates
The health, safety and well-being of the NSCD community is our top priority.
We are constantly monitoring information from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). We will continue to communicate via email and catalog those 2020-2021 emails here. This is a challenging time. Please protect yourself and your family by following these guildelines:
- Wear a mask in public
- Wash hands often with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds
- Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth
- Cover a cough or sneeze with your sleeve, or using a disposable tissue and then wash your hands afterward
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Stay away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough
- Practice social distancing
- Following guidance from public health officials
- If you have COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath please call your healthcare provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken prior to your office visit.
General FAQs
- What do I do if my child or someone in my household wakes up with symptoms of COVID-19?
- If my child wakes up sick, gets sent home sick or is identified as a close contact to a positive COVID-19 case, should they be tested?
- My pediatrician only offers rapid antigen testing for COVID-19. Where can I get a PCR test?
- My child has COVID-like symptoms but I don’t think they have COVID-19. When can they return to school?
- My child or someone in our household tested positive for COVID-19. Who should I tell?
- My child or someone in our household tested positive for COVID-19. When can they return to school?
- My child recently had COVID-19. The pediatrician told us that testing could provide false results after their isolation period has been completed. Can this happen with the weekly saliva screening?
- If someone in the school community tests positive for COVID-19, will you tell me what division, grade or cohort had the positive case?
- Will you tell me if there has been a positive case in one of my child’s classes?
- Who is considered a close contact for COVID-19?
- If my child was wearing a mask, are they still considered a close contact? What if they were outside when they were near them?
- How will I know if my student is a close contact to a COVID-positive individual? Will you tell me if they’ve been directly affected?
- What if one of my child’s close friends is feeling ill or has been exposed to COVID-19 and is being tested. Doesn’t that mean my child may have been exposed? What do I do?
- If my child has been in close contact with a COVID-positive individual, how long do they have to quarantine? Didn’t the guidelines recently change?
- If my child must quarantine because of close contact, can siblings or other household members still come to campus?
- If my child must quarantine because of close contact and then receives a negative test result, can they come back early?
- If my child is isolated because of a positive test result or quarantined because of close contact to an infected individual, do we still need to fill out the wellness screening each morning during the quarantine period?
- If my child is isolated because of a positive test result or quarantined because of close contact to an infected individual but is not feeling ill, can they still participate in classes remotely?
- Can my child still have a playdate with someone who is in quarantine because of close contact with a COVID-positive individual?
- What are some ways to limit the spread of COVID-19?
- If I have to travel to a designated hot spot for work purposes, will my child(ren) have to quarantine for 14 days when I return?
- How else can parents help?
What do I do if my child or someone in my household wakes up with symptoms of COVID-19?
Any student, faculty or staff member with any COVID-19 symptoms must stay home. If anyone in the household is symptomatic, all household members must quarantine until final test results or an alternative diagnosis is received. Medical evaluation and testing are strongly recommended for all persons with COVID-like symptoms, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).
- Any time your student(s) will be absent from campus for any reason, please make sure to submit a Student Attendance Notification Form for your student(s).
If my child wakes up sick, gets sent home sick or is identified as a close contact to a positive COVID-19 case, should they be tested?
That is up to your healthcare provider to determine. Medical evaluation and testing are strongly recommended for all persons with COVID-like symptoms, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). If testing is warranted, testing site locations can be found here. Please note, due to a change in IDPH guidelines, rapid antigen tests are no longer accepted. Only RT-PCR tests will be accepted.
My pediatrician only offers rapid antigen testing for COVID-19. Where can I get a PCR test?
These are a few facilities that provide PCR COVID-19 testing. Be sure to call in advance or check their websites to confirm eligibility and to find out whether an appointment is required.
My child has COVID-like symptoms but I don’t think they have COVID-19. When can they return to school?
Stay home until symptoms have improved. Follow up with your healthcare provider to report symptoms. If your child tests negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours of symptom onset or receives an alternate diagnosis from a healthcare provider, follow the return-to-school criteria for the diagnosed condition. At a minimum, the individual must be fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and have had no diarrhea or vomiting in the previous 24 hours. Documentation of a negative result or MD note re: non-COVID illness must be submitted to covid@nscds.org prior to returning to school. If your child has not been tested and has no alternate diagnosis, they must stay home for at least 10 days from when symptoms began and be fever-free without medication for 24 hours.
My child or someone in our household tested positive for COVID-19. Who should I tell?
If you or your child tests positive for COVID-19, please send an email immediately to covid@nscds.org. This will alert the NSCD COVID-19 Response Team (Head of School Tom Flemma, Assistant Head of School Mary Fielder, School Nurse Jamie Valker and Operations Director Cindy Hooper). Please DO NOT send any member of your family to school. Please DO NOT email any teachers or administrators directly.
My child or someone in our household tested positive for COVID-19. When can they return to school?
The positive individual must isolate at home for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms; additionally, they must be fever-free for at least 24 hours (without using medication to reduce your temperature) and all symptoms must have improved. Those with close contact need to quarantine for 14 days from their last exposure to the positive individual. If the household setup does not allow for isolation of the positive individual (i.e. separate bedroom and bathroom allowing social distancing within the home), the 14-day quarantine of the close contacts would begin AFTER the 10 day isolation of the positive individual was completed.
My child recently had COVID-19. The pediatrician told us that testing could provide false results after their isolation period has been completed. Can this happen with the weekly saliva screening?
If someone in the school community tests positive for COVID-19, will you tell me what division, grade or cohort had the positive case?
NSCD protects the medical and privacy rights of our community and is unable to disclose anything that could possibly identify the infected individual. We will communicate each positive case with the entire school community, but we have been advised by our contact tracer at the Cook County Department of Public Health not to include any specific identifiers in our communications about cases, including division, grade, cohort, or whether it was an adult or a student. When contact tracing has been completed relative to a specific case, it is unnecessary to share any further details since those who were identified as close contacts already know. However, in the future, if contact tracing cannot be done in a timely manner, we will certainly reevaluate our policy regarding identifiers for positive cases. We are committed to maintaining the safety and health of our community and will act accordingly in sharing pertinent and relevant information with the community.
As always, it is vital for our community to avoid uninformed assumptions or discrimination, base our actions on the best information and data available, and support each other. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has provided resources on reducing stigma related to COVID-19.
Will you tell me if there has been a positive case in one of my child’s classes?
Generally, no. You will be contacted directly by the school if your child has been determined to be a close contact of an individual who tests positive for COVID-19. If there is any uncertainty about whether or not a student has been in close contact, as with very young students, we err on the side of caution. But in order to protect the privacy of our community, we cannot provide information that could potentially identify students, and with NSCD’s small class sizes, disclosing a particular class or even grade, could compromise the individual’s right to privacy.
Who is considered a close contact for COVID-19?
According to the IDPH and CDC, a close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from two days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, two days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. If the details are uncertain—for instance, the positive individual is a younger student where social distancing is hard to determine or a faculty/staff member is uncertain if they were within 6 feet of a positive student for more than 15 mins—the local health department will err on the side of caution when determining who will need to quarantine.
If my child was wearing a mask, are they still considered a close contact? What if they were outside when they were near them?
When contact tracing, the health department does not take into consideration whether an individual is masked or unmasked, inside or outside. The IDPH and CDC define a close contact as any individual who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes. That’s why social distancing (ie. maintaining at least 6 feet of distance) is so important. Please remember to maintain distance—even while wearing a mask, even while outdoors.
How will I know if my student is a close contact to a COVID-positive individual? Will you tell me if they’ve been directly affected?
Once the school receives a notification of a positive case, internal contact tracing will begin with the partnership of Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH). If you or your student has been identified as a close contact to someone who has tested positive, you will be notified directly via phone by the COVID-19 Response Team. This can take 24-48 hours.
What if one of my child’s close friends is feeling ill or has been exposed to COVID-19 and is being tested. Doesn’t that mean my child may have been exposed? What do I do?
First, take a breath. Wait until the friend receives their test results. If your child was not within 6 feet of them for more than 15 minutes in the two days before their symptoms began (or before they were tested, if asymptomatic), they would not be considered a close contact and wouldn’t need to take any action at all. If the friend tests positive and your child was a close contact of them, you will receive a phone call from the school and follow-up email with detailed instructions on what to do. Until that happens, try not to worry, and know that you do not need to keep your child home from school unless they are feeling ill.
If my child has been in close contact with a COVID-positive individual, how long do they have to quarantine? Didn’t the guidelines recently change?
If your child is determined to be a close contact, the CDC still recommends a 14-day quarantine period from the date of the most recent exposure to the infected individual. Although the CDC recently released options for a shortened quarantine time based on symptom monitoring and diagnostic testing, the school is continuing to follow the 14-day guidance, which is the safest option. Once details of the exposure have been reported to the local health department, they will determine a release date that will be shared with you by a member of the COVID-19 response team.
If my child must quarantine because of close contact, can siblings or other household members still come to campus?
Yes, contacts of a person who is a close contact to a COVID-19 case do not need to self-quarantine unless they develop symptoms or if the person identified as the close contact develops COVID-19. They should, however, monitor themselves closely for symptoms of COVID-19 and if they become symptomatic, self-isolate and seek medical evaluation/testing.
If my child must quarantine because of close contact and then receives a negative test result, can they come back early?
If my child is isolated because of a positive test result or quarantined because of close contact to an infected individual, do we still need to fill out the wellness screening each morning during the quarantine period?
If my child is isolated because of a positive test result or quarantined because of close contact to an infected individual but is not feeling ill, can they still participate in classes remotely?
Yes. If students are required to miss more than a few days of school because of COVID-19 restrictions, they can participate remotely until the quarantine period has ended; however, it may take up to 48 hours to onboard a student for remote learning. You will receive specific instructions on transitioning to remote learning from your child's division.
Can my child still have a playdate with someone who is in quarantine because of close contact with a COVID-positive individual?
What are some ways to limit the spread of COVID-19?
Everyone, regardless of close contact, can take action to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The most important things you can do:
- Wear a mask. Every person who comes to campus is required to wear a mask indoors at all times unless eating or drinking, and outdoors when six feet of distance cannot be maintained. Acceptable masks include fabric masks that are at least two to three layers thick and not knit, N95 and KN95, and disposable surgical masks. Neck gaiters and masks with exhalation valves or vents are not permitted.
- Wash hands frequently.
- Stay home if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- If you are symptomatic, call your primary healthcare provider to determine if testing is needed.
If I have to travel to a designated hot spot for work purposes, will my child(ren) have to quarantine for 14 days when I return?
No. The 14-day quarantine is only needed for the person who has been in a designated hot spot for longer than 24 hours themselves. However, if you have traveled to a hot spot and must quarantine at home, it is important to maintain distance from other household members during that period, as you may have been exposed to COVID-19 and could be contagious, even if you are not experiencing symptoms.
Regardless of where you traveled or what you did during your trip, take these actions to protect others from getting sick after you return:
- When around others, stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arms’ length) from other people who are not from your household. It is important to do this everywhere, both indoors and outdoors.
- Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are outside of your home.
- Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol).
- Watch your health and look for symptoms of COVID-19. Take your temperature if you feel sick.
How else can parents help?
Saliva Testing FAQs
Program Basics
- What is COVID-19 surveillance screening?
- Why is NSCD offering COVID-19 Surveillance Screening?
- Is the screening mandatory?
- Can my child opt out of the test?
- Does this mean that school will be back to “normal”?
- Will parents and faculty be charged for the COVID-19 screening?
- Do I need to show proof of insurance?
- My child recently had COVID-19. The pediatrician told us that testing could provide false results after their isolation period has been completed. Can this happen with the weekly saliva screening?
What is COVID-19 surveillance screening?
A COVID-19 screening is a non-diagnostic tool which uses a saliva sample to identify the need for further medical evaluation for COVID-19. This is especially helpful in asymptomatic individuals. NSCD's screening is considered non-diagnostic because samples are collected at home and tested in a lab outside of a medical facility. It is based on FDA approved tests and proven science. Any “positive” results will need confirmation by an additional FDA approved PCR test.
Why is NSCD offering COVID-19 Surveillance Screening?
The goal of the COVID-19 screening program is to increase the safety of our school community by helping to reduce and prevent the spread of COVID-19. The relative ease of the saliva test, its accuracy, and the rapid return of results will support our current health and safety protocols by identifying asymptomatic individuals with COVID-19 and thereby helping to reduce and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Is the screening mandatory?
Can my child opt out of the test?
Does this mean that school will be back to “normal”?
Will parents and faculty be charged for the COVID-19 screening?
Do I need to show proof of insurance?
My child recently had COVID-19. The pediatrician told us that testing could provide false results after their isolation period has been completed. Can this happen with the weekly saliva screening?
About the Test
- How is surveillance screening different from a COVID-19 test? Is this like a rapid test?
- Where can I find out more about LAMP testing and its use in the detection of COVID-19?
How is surveillance screening different from a COVID-19 test? Is this like a rapid test?
A COVID-19 test is a diagnostic test used to confirm the virus. NSCD's screening is considered non-diagnostic because samples are collected at home and tested in a lab outside of a medical facility.
NSCD's screening is a molecular test, not the less sensitive antigen tests often used at rapid testing facilities. NSCD's screening uses RT-LAMP technology, a well-developed and well-researched RNA amplification process. This type of screening has been validated and used worldwide for its accuracy and sensitivity.
This chart from the CDC explains the different types of COVID-19 tests:
Where can I find out more about LAMP testing and its use in the detection of COVID-19?
These scientific research articles provide more information about LAMP testing:
- Science magazine: A colorimetric RT-LAMP assay and LAMP-sequencing for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in clinical samples
- Science Direct: Mini review: Recent progress in RT-LAMP enabled COVID-19 detection
In addition, the FDA approved an at-home test on November 17, 2020, that also uses LAMP technology. It is not exactly the same as North Shore's screening but does use the same RNA amplification process:
Finally, this webinar recording includes information on safeguard surveillance as it is being implemented at New Trier High School and a Q&A with Dr. Ed Campbell, who developed the screening test.
Testing Logistics at NSCD
- How do we get started?
- When will tests occur?
- What is involved in the test?
- How do we collect a sample? What are the step-by-step instructions?
- What if I miss returning the sample by the deadline?
- If my student is learning remotely, can he/she still take advantage of this program?
- What happens after the sample is collected?
- My child’s weekly saliva sample was not turned in. What happens now?
How do we get started?
Parents must complete a waiver before Thursday, January 14, for each of their children. This form is available on My North Shore. Please login and complete the form(s) as soon as possible. For help with My North Shore, please contact School Registrar Julie Schmidt at jschmidt@nscds.org.
When will tests occur?
Usually, students, faculty and staff will be asked to bring their samples on Thursdays when they arrive at school. For lower and middle school students, and any faculty or staff who will be on campus in the morning, the samples may be completed any time after 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. For upper school students or faculty and staff who come to school later in the day, samples must be completed Thursday mornings. Separate procedures will be communicated surrounding school vacations and other possible changes to this general schedule.
What is involved in the test?
Each family will receive a large Ziploc bag with the student’s name on it. Each student has their own bag with dedicated materials. Inside there will be four weeks of testing materials: Vials with a barcode on them, small straws to fill the vials, coin envelopes to return the completed samples and written instructions.
How do we collect a sample? What are the step-by-step instructions?
Each student will provide a small amount of saliva by drooling into a vial using a small straw. This sample may be completed any time after 6 p.m. the night before middle and lower school drop-off—it will remain stable and viable overnight at room temperature. Upper school samples should be completed in the morning before afternoon classes begin. The sample must be brought to school on the assigned day in order for students to attend.
- Before providing your sample, do not drink (even water) for 30 minutes
Collecting saliva too soon after drinking anything, including water, dilutes your saliva sample. - Before providing your sample, do not eat or chew gum for 30 minutes.
In addition to diluting your sample, you could be introducing non-human DNA to your sample. -
Bubbles do not count
After providing your sample, make sure that the liquid saliva reaches the first (.5) line; any bubbles should be above the line. This will ensure that enough saliva is collected.
Instructions:
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Open the test tube.
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Use the straw to “funnel” saliva into the test tube.
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Close the tube securely.
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Place the tube in the envelope.
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Return the envelope with the test tube to school.
Note: It takes most people 2 to 5 minutes to provide a saliva sample
If you’re having trouble, try:
- Collecting large amounts of saliva in the mouth before spitting (that's often easier than spitting small amounts more often)
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Closing your mouth and wiggling your tongue
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Gently rubbing the outside of your cheeks, just behind your back teeth
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Making chewing motions with your mouth
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Smelling or imagining smelling sour foods such as lemons
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Thinking about your own favorite food
What if I miss returning the sample by the deadline?
For the first week or two, we will have extra vials and labels available for students to provide a sample. After that, we will not allow students to do so. For obvious safety reasons, we are trying to avoid a situation where multiple people are unmasked and providing samples on campus. These need to be completed at home with parents.
If my student is learning remotely, can he/she still take advantage of this program?
What happens after the sample is collected?
All samples will be removed from their coin envelopes and will be placed in test tube racks. A school driver will deliver them to Brookfield, where the Safeguard Surveillance laboratory is located.
Test results will usually be shared within 12 hours, which will allow us to notify parents before the next day of school of any significant findings and keep students (and any siblings) home until results are verified with a diagnostic PCR test.
My child’s weekly saliva sample was not turned in. What happens now?
Samples must be provided every test day unless you have been notified otherwise by the school nurse. If you do not submit a sample on a test day, you may not attend school in-person until the next saliva testing day. If you are currently learning remotely but plan to attend in-person the following week, you must drop off a sample. We do not accept outside COVID-19 testing in lieu of saliva testing.
Results Notification
- How and when will parents be notified if there is a positive result?
- What happens next if the child’s screening is positive?
- When can my child return to school?
- Can siblings attend school?
- Will teachers/kids in their class be notified?
- Will their class be forced to go remote?
- How many positive screening results in a classroom before they go remote?
- If my child has a “negative” saliva test but ends up staying home later in the week with symptoms, do they still need to follow up with their healthcare provider?
How and when will parents be notified if there is a positive result?
Parents will ONLY be contacted in the event their child’s screening shows a need for further follow-up. Our school nurse will contact the parents in the evening and explain the next steps. Any students who are identified by the screening will be referred to a CLIA certified lab for diagnostic tests. This is a technical way of saying that if anything suspicious is identified, students will need a full PCR test, just as we ask now as part of our daily health attestations.
What happens next if the child’s screening is positive?
When can my child return to school?
Can siblings attend school?
Will teachers/kids in their class be notified?
Will their class be forced to go remote?
How many positive screening results in a classroom before they go remote?
If my child has a “negative” saliva test but ends up staying home later in the week with symptoms, do they still need to follow up with their healthcare provider?
Confidentiality
Latest Communication
Dear Parents,
There are crucial steps detailed below that must be completed before students will be allowed to return to campus on Tuesday, January 19. I have hyperlinked much of the detail to make this message shorter, but please read to the end.
Dear Parents,
Following careful consideration of the current health environment in Cook County, Chicago and Illinois, and out of care and concern for our students, teachers and families, we have made the decision to alter our upcoming schedule, including an “adaptive pause” transition to remote learning after Thanksgiving break and two days off of school during Thanksgiving week to allow teachers to prepare. This is not an action we take lightly, but it is one that we feel is appropriate at this time. Please read to the end of this message for important specifics and dates regarding our return to in-person learning plans, including new information about surveillance saliva testing upon our return in January.
Dear Parents,
We are completing the 10th full week of on-campus learning and continue to be proud of our collective work. Thank you for all of your help in keeping our community safe.
That said, we are entering a new phase of this battle in the state as the number of positive COVID-19 cases rises. This message is to share some of the decision metrics around when we might transition to remote learning to protect the health and safety of our North Shore community.
Dear Parents,
As we finish our eighth week of school, we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have had this time together with your children. It has been a total team effort—our faculty and staff have gone above and beyond in so many ways, the students have been responsive and responsible, and parents have been exceptional partners. Thank you!
Dear Parents,
In order to gather more information as we make our school plans for December and January, please complete the following survey by Saturday, October 17. It should take less than one minute.
Trusted Resources
- Child Mind Institute: Teenagers and Reopening
- CDC: COVID-19 Portal
- CDC: COVID-19 Situation Summary
- Illinois Department of Public Health
- Cook County Public Health
- CDC: Handwashing: Keeping Your Family Healthy
- CDC: Stop the Spread of Germs
- HealthyChildren.org COVID-19 Information
- Video: World Health Organization: Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
- VIDEO: CDC: What You Need To Know About Handwashing
- VIDEO: World Health Organization: How to protect yourself against COVID-19
Child Mind Institute: Teenagers and Reopening
Tips for helping kids stay safe during a confusing time.
CDC: COVID-19 Portal
CDC: COVID-19 Situation Summary
Illinois Department of Public Health
This link will take you to the Illinois Department of Public Health's main website.
Cook County Public Health
This link will take you to the Cook County Public Health website.
CDC: Handwashing: Keeping Your Family Healthy
A handwashing guide provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – PDF
CDC: Stop the Spread of Germs
A guide from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) detailing how you can help prevent the spead of germs – PDF
HealthyChildren.org COVID-19 Information
This link will take you to the COVID-19 information page maintained by healthychildren.org.
Video: World Health Organization: Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
VIDEO: CDC: What You Need To Know About Handwashing
VIDEO: World Health Organization: How to protect yourself against COVID-19
Reopening Webinars
Medical Advisory Team
Seamus Collins, MPH P ’31 ’34
Vice-President of Operations, Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital
Jeff Foreman, MD ’80
Chair of the Board of Trustees, NSCD
Internal Medicine Specialist
Mark Haupt, MD P ’28, ’30
Pediatric Pulmonologist
Chief Medical Officer, Ariel Precision Medicine
Melissa Howard, JD P ’27 ’30
Civil Rights Attorney, U.S. Department of Education
Mike Howard, MD P ’27 ’30
Plastic Surgeon
Clark McKown, Ph.D. P ’21
President and Founder, xSEL Labs
Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Rush University Medical Center
Chethra Muthiah, MD P ’29, ’32
Infectious Disease Specialist
Judith Nerad, MD P ’19, ’22
Infectious Disease Specialist
Hospice and Palliative Care Physician
Richard Phillips, MD, MBA P ’25, ’28, ’32
Emergency Medicine Specialist
Medical Director, AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Glen Oaks