Vanderbilt faculty, administrators, staff and students pursuing education-related opportunities away from campus can get help with health or safety issues that might arise by calling a new 24-hour service.
The Vanderbilt Incident Response for Travel (VIRT) team is dedicated to providing health- and safety-related guidance and assistance to Vanderbilt community members traveling away from campus—whether for academic conferences, research at another institution, study abroad or community service.
VU travelers can reach a VIRT team member by calling the Vanderbilt University Police Department at +1 615-322-2745 seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Callers should tell the VUPD dispatcher that they wish to report an issue to VIRT or report that they are traveling—dispatchers have been trained to refer calls accordingly.
The VIRT team can provide expert guidance and help connect travelers with the appropriate health care and safety resources, including:
- Medical consultation to help make informed decisions
- Guidance in using Vanderbilt-issued insurance
- Coordination of a medical or emergency evacuation from abroad
- Support for trip leaders, whether faculty, student or staff
The launch of VIRT follows the January 2017 appointment of Andrea M. Bordeau, an expert in the field of global safety and security, to the newly created position of global safety and security manager within Vanderbilt’s Global Education Office. In this role, Bordeau leads the university’s safety and security activities related to all travel away from campus, with a special focus on international travel.
VIRT was conceived by a cross-campus working group and continues to coordinate with the expertise and services of a number of Vanderbilt offices, including the Office of the Provost, the Global Education Office, VU Finance and Travel, Risk and Insurance Management, the Office of the Dean of Students, Vanderbilt University News and Communications, the Office of the General Counsel, Project Safe, Student Health, the Psychological and Counseling Center, and the Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Disability Services Department.
VIRT is available to all Vanderbilt community members when traveling away from campus on university business. For more information, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/virt.