With another Rochester winter now in full swing, we also want to tip you off to some helpful URMC parking services. Did you know that URMC’s lot attendants happily provide complimentary car-starts (for dead batteries), tire inflation, and even lock de-icing in inclement weather? Don’t be afraid to ask. In fact, you might want to plug their number into your cell phone: 275-4524 (Medical Center Office) or 273-4226 (Ramp Garage, which is staffed even later into the evening).

We also want to arm you with some safe driving tips, plus a quick overview of URMC's severe-weather policies.

Drive Safely

• If possible, check the forecast the night before so you can build extra time into your commute (for scraping ice and snow from the windshield, as well as for likely highway delays).
• While on the road, allow yourself ample room to brake (about three times the space you’d typically leave between your vehicle and the one you’re following).
• Clean snow and ice from your headlights, then turn them on – this will make you more visible to other motorists.
• Be aware that bridges and overpasses freeze first; in fact, these can be frozen even if the thermometer reads above 32 degrees.
• If you get stuck, don’t spin your wheels – that’ll only dig your vehicle down deeper. Instead, use the steering wheel to nudge them from side to side to push snow away, and then use a light touch on the gas to ease your car out.

Severe Weather: Reporting to Work

Everyone who works for the Medical Center – whether at Elmwood Avenue or any off-site location – is considered “essential staff” and is required to report to work even during severe weather. If you are unable to report to work, contact your supervisor.  Depending upon your time-off bank and your supervisor’s direction, you can use vacation or paid time off, or report the time as an absence-with-permission-but-without-pay.

Cancelling or Curtailing Patient Care Programs/Reporting Closings

If a program director determines that a service or department should be closed or curtailed due to unsafe weather conditions, he or she must call the Ambulatory Care Services office or the responsible Dean or director before closing the program. Even if a program is closed or curtailed, the staff is still expected to report. If a location is inaccessible, staff will be directed to another location where they can be re-deployed.

Deans, directors, and the Ambulatory Care Services’ office will contact the Medical Center’s Public Relations and Communications office to report all program and office closings. Public Relations will be responsible for contacting the news media with this information. In addition, updates on Medical Center program/class cancellations will be available at http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/cancellations (a link to this site is available via the URMC homepage).