About The Project:
The global pandemic has impacted every aspect of our community, especially schools and the education system. With a new school year approaching, there was uncertainty over what education would look like, which made things especially challenging for our client, a nonprofit education system for underprivileged children, and their community of parents, students, and faculty. The school’s motivation for re-opening was to address these primary concerns:
- Maintain a sense of normalcy for their students and prevent students from falling behind in their studies.
- Ease the burden of parents in the community. Many of these parents needed to return to work (i.e. essential workers, sole providers, etc.), so homeschooling would prove to be especially difficult.
- Keep the facilities’ operations running smoothly and safely amidst this time of uncertainty.
- Update the schools’ temporary solution of checking temperatures via automatic technology. This solution did not have a human element, and posed questions when someone showed a failing temperature.
- Mitigate anxiety around returning for students, faculty, and parents.
- Facilitate education around COVID-19 in the community.
In order to address these concerns, the client knew they needed to take the steps to open the school safely and responsibly. They originally decided to utilize Tandym Group customizable “Return to the Workplace” program to support their temperature screening efforts. Although this is where the project started, it evolved as we moved closer to the first day of school.
Solutions Provided:
- Temperature/thermal screening
- Mapping of building layout for logistical purposes regarding re-entry planning. This yielded:
- Designated entrances and exits
- Exclusion rooms
- Surveillance rooms
- Gateway testing: All students and faculty entering the school needed to be declared COVID-free prior to the first day of school.
- Mobile Health COVID-19 rapid PCR tests: Should anyone register a failing temperature, a COVID-19 test is to be given in the excusion room by a Registered Nurse.
- Surveillance testing: All students and faculty are to be randomly tested during the school year.
- Contact tracing: Concierge nurse on staff to manage the spread of COVID-19.
The Results:
- More students and parents feel comfortable returning! As a result, those who originally opted for remote learning at the start of the year are hoping to resume in-person learning. Because of this, the school is looking to do a second round of “gateway” testing in the late fall.
- By using Mobile Health’s testing resources, Tandym Group was able to expedite test results—eliminating the need to use external testing centers.
- Tandym Group re-entry strategy has proven to be a framework that other on-hold programs can follow once they get clearance to re-open.
- The program is being expanded to other community programs that many students are heavily involved in (after school programs).
Notable Data:
18 thermal screeners on-site every day for screening students and faculty
8 RNs every day for exclusion rooms
4 RNs every day for surveillance testing
1 remote RN available 24/7 for concierge contact tracing
1 remote Scheduler for non-clinical support
