Health department receives $265K IT grant to fight COVID-19

<p>A $264,871 grant will provide the county health department more ways to combat the coronavirus with technology.</p><p>The grant, by way of the federal CARES Act, is the county’s portion of $14 million in grants distributed to local health departments, according to information from the Indiana State Department of Health. </p><p>The grant can be used for many purposes related to technology, such as purchasing hardware, software, equipment to boost WiFi, upgrade servers and improve cyber security, according to the grant agreement.</p><p>“(It) gives the ability for departments that haven’t updated their software in years to come into the 21st century,” said Betsy Swearingen, director of the Johnson County Health Department. </p><p>Swearingen is working with the county’s IT department to determine the best ways to spend the money to improve services and make it easier for employees to access tools to do their work remotely or while out on an inspection.</p><p>“We want to spend it in a thoughtful way. We don’t want to spend it to spend,” she said.</p><p>One need is for all health department employees to have a computer with a webcam, so anyone who needs to can join a webinar or video conference call.</p><p>Another technology gap is the inability to access the department’s server from county-provided iPads and Surface tablets that inspectors use in the field, Swearingen said.</p><p>Right now, if a health inspector wants to bring their last report to a business, they would need to print a copy, email it or save it to their device. With a server connection on their devices, all the needed documents would be at their fingertips, she said.</p><p>In the context of the coronavirus, inspectors could pull up repeat coronavirus-related violations at local businesses or refer to mitigation plans for events.</p><p>Ideally, the health department would also like more generators so it can provide power sources at possible mobile clinics, Swearingen said.</p><p>The money must be spent by the end of 2020, so the health department will have to move quickly to assess and anticipate how technology can be best applied to help the county fight the ongoing pandemic, she said.</p>