Callaway County to train additional contact tracers

The Callaway County Health Department's contact tracing team has been stretched thin by the ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases, according to director Sharon Lynch, left, and nurses Nancy Russe, Megan Whelan and Stephanie Woods. The CCHD is hoping to train additional contact tracers soon.
The Callaway County Health Department's contact tracing team has been stretched thin by the ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases, according to director Sharon Lynch, left, and nurses Nancy Russe, Megan Whelan and Stephanie Woods. The CCHD is hoping to train additional contact tracers soon.

As Callaway County's COVID-19 cases have continued to climb, the burden on the small staff of the Callaway County Health Department has climbed, too.

"On Friday, we had 13 new cases in one day," said CCHD Director Sharon Lynch. "We're going to need help."

Each time a new case of COVID-19 crops up in the community, a contact tracer must track down anyone who might have been in close contact with that person while contagious. The contact tracer then contacts those individuals - without revealing the identity of the infected person - and encourages them to self-quarantine to prevent further spread.

So far, the burden of contact tracing within the county has fallen on the CCHD's nurses, who still have to keep up with other Health Department duties.

"These nurses have worked almost every weekend since March," Lynch said.

"I've had dreams I'm doing contact tracing all night long," added CCHD registered nurse Stephanie Woods.

The CCHD's exhausted contact tracers can expect reinforcements soon.

During a meeting with Callaway County commissioners Wednesday, commissioners and CCHD staff discussed plans to train additional contact tracers.

Lynch said she's considering "activating" Callaway County's Medical Reserve Corps - a volunteer network focused on improving public health - but that won't be her starting point. Instead, she's identified five current CCHD employees to go through online contact tracing training. She's also been in contact with Lincoln University in Jefferson City about having nursing students work as contact tracers as a practicum.

If required, she plans to recruit additional county employees.

"Our concern is that HIPAA is going to be maintained," Woods explained.

If bringing in outside help becomes necessary, the county can pay for it.

"We have money coming from the state Department of Health for doing this," Lynch said.

Additionally, the government is encouraging use of federal CARES Act funds for contact tracing, Callaway County Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann said.

"We can use that 'til the end of the year, though I'm hoping for an extension," he said.

The newly trained contact tracers won't be on the job every day - but Lynch wants to make sure help is available when her team needs it.

"If we get 20 people in a day, we're going to be calling them in," she said.