MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
In June, we first told you about the Shelby County Health Department receiving federal funding to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Thanks to federal dollars from the CARES Act, the department added 140 new positions that range from contact tracers to epidemiologists. Local 24 News has learned there is still a need for workers.
The additional hires are part of Shelby County’s COVID-19 response team and many of them will be working out in the communities, but some of the team will be housed in a building located in a Nonconnah Office park.
"For some of the positions we have had some turnover, folks who started the job and then determined it wasn’t right for them so they resigned so we still have some vacancies,” said David Sweat, Shelby County Health Department’s Deputy Division Director for COVID-19 response unit.
The Shelby County Health Department has been transparent about COVID-19 data daily and the department is still in need of people to help with various tasks. Positions range from Clinical Specialists to Contact Tracers.
“We also have enforcement inspectors, we have laboratory people to help with testing capabilities, we also have interpreters to help us with any language issues,” Sweat explained.
Sweat says the staff gives them a larger contact tracing workforce.
“In terms of testing specifically, yes there will be assistance from this team in community outreach testing but we will also be deploying them when we have identified clusters or places where there maybe transmission occurring,” Sweat said. “Also the Outreach teams to the Latin X community to Geographic hotspots, nursing homes.“
Before the funding, the health department would rely on help from the City of Memphis and other organizations.
“We’ve had to reallocate the Health Department staff from other program areas and have then do this work. We’ve also narrowed staff from the city of Memphis, we’ve had to use law enforcement from Shelby county sheriff or Memphis police,” Sweat said.
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