DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Colleen M. Bridger, MPH, PhD, Assistant City Manager, Interim Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: A briefing providing updates on the COVID-19 Community Response Coalition (CRC)
SUMMARY:
The Co-Chairs of the CRC, Dr. Colleen Bridger and Dr. Barbara Taylor, will provide a briefing to update the progress made by the five workgroups as a part of the COVID-19 Community Response Coalition set up by the Health Transition Team’s Implementation Plan.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The COVID-19 Testing Task Force was first convened by Metro Health on March 18, 2020 to bring together laboratories, hospital systems, health care providers, community based clinics, and representatives from the Emergency Operations Center to assess the testing capacity for COVID-19 in San Antonio and Bexar County. The COVID-19 Testing Task Force was comprised of 16 healthcare sector organizations conducting COVID-19 specimen collection within Bexar County, and 16 laboratories conducting COVID-19 testing.
As of June 1, the COVID-19 Testing Task Force broadened its role (and changed its name) to provide oversight and coordination of all health sector partners involved in the monitoring of progress and warning indictors, specimen collection and laboratory testing for COVID-19, ensuring adequate case investigations for all positive cases to identify their contacts, developing local policy and health alerts, as well as coordinating education and enforcement activities.
The COVID-19 Community Response Coalition (CRC) serves as an advisory body to Metro Health and the Department of Government and Public Affairs, where all stakeholders and agencies involved in COVID-19 response communicate regularly and can discuss the myriad issues associated with responding to and communicating about a Pandemic caused by a novel virus.
The CRC, through its workgroups, has produced educational material, suggested website/dashboard content, and provided guidance on bar openings and public health alerts. With the addition of the PreK-12 ad-hoc workgroup, the CRC also was instrumental in guiding local school districts in developing their back-to-school strategies. Overall, the CRC has provided sound guidance and oversight to all aspects of the public health response through the following working groups:
• Indicator Monitoring
• Testing and Lab Reporting
• Contact Tracing
• Enforcement & Education
• Policy & Health Alerts
• PreK-12
As the profile of the pandemic changes, the CRC continues to re-evaluate its role. Plans are under way to assess the current needs of the community and discover how the CRC can adjust to the changing needs.
ISSUE:
Metro Health would like the opportunity to brief the Community Health and Equity Committee on progress made by the five workgroups as a part of the COVID-19 Community Response Coalition set up by the Health Transition Team’s Implementation Plan.
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact at this time.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.