Bearing down

Health law MJ student Alexis Chapple-Falleroni served as Chicago Bears’ COVID-19 nurse

Like so many of us, Alexis Chapple-Falleroni, RN, couldn’t have dreamed of the ways 2020 would change everything. Certainly, the MJ in Health Law program student never foresaw working as a COVID-19 nurse for the Chicago Bears.

As a Chicago area native and a lifelong fan, Chapple-Falleroni says one of her fondest childhood memories is of helping her family decorate the exterior of their home to celebrate Da Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl victory.

“I never really imagined that as a nurse I would work for a professional football organization,” she says. Then a chance conversation with a friend who consults for the team led to an opportunity she “couldn’t pass up.”

When the pandemic hit, the NFL had just entered its offseason and had time to implement strict COVID mitigation protocols before training camp in July, with the hopes of a “normal” season in the fall. The biggest challenge for each of the league’s 32 clubs: rigorous, standardized, daily testing.

In her role with the Bears, Chapple-Falleroni worked alongside the team’s head athletic trainer to ensure that the players, along with their support staff and families, remained healthy—and were compliant with the NFL’s protocols. She became a liaison between the football club and a third-party lab company that processed the tests. When the lights turned on in September at Soldier Field, she helped coordinate masking and testing for hundreds more game-day personnel.

It was certainly a challenge, but “fascinating,” says Chapple-Falleroni, who worked in marketing before she pivoted to medicine and became a registered nurse. After a few years in the operating room, she joined Baxter Healthcare and specialized in pharmacovigilance (drug safety) and quality control. So while Chapple-Falleroni was no stranger to the complex web of healthcare compliance and privacy laws, she wasn’t quite prepared for the world of professional sports, where athletes’ health is a matter of public record and popular speculation.

The legal implications were both “alarming and intriguing,” she says, adding that it was part of what drove her to seek “a higher level of training” at Loyola.

Chapple-Falleroni worked alongside the team’s head athletic trainer to ensure that the players, along with their support staff and families, remained healthy—and were compliant with the NFL’s protocols.

Loyola’s MJ in Health Law program, offered entirely online, is designed for busy medical professionals to complete part time in six semesters over two years. Live classes meet via Zoom during evening hours, so a typical courseload can fit into just about any schedule.

“Now that the pandemic is hopefully behind us, I'm focusing on my studies,” she says. “And I'm thrilled to be here.” –Audrey Michelle Mast (August 2022)