Throughout the pandemic response, one of Williamson County’s main goals has been to protect those most vulnerable in our community from the spread of COVID-19. As a continuing commitment to that goal, the Williamson County Commissioners Court approved an interlocal agreement with the Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) to allow Williamson County EMS Community Health Paramedics (CHP) to work with them on grant-funded activities to conduct COVID-19 assessments and education at long-term care facilities. In exchange, Williamson County will receive $47,000 of the grant funds from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) grant for building local COVID-19 response capacity.
 
The County’s responsibilities under the grant include conducting Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) assessments in at least 40 long-term care facilities, as well as developing materials, such as checklists, trainings, handouts, and signs, to support implementation of federal guidance on monitoring and responding to emerging threats including COVID-19 at these facilities. 
The 40 facilities identified for this grant are licensed by the State of Texas as either nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Under Governor Abbott’s orders, all of these facilities have recently been allowed to have visitors inside.
 
“We put these residents at an emotional risk in not letting them see their families, but opening these facilities to visitors puts them at risk for COVID-19 if not handled correctly. Now is the perfect time for us to support these facilities as they work to keep their residents safe and healthy while reopening,” said Amy Jarosek, senior lead of the CHP team. 
 
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CHP was tasked early with helping reach out to long-term care facilities delivering control orders and implementing a task force to conduct COVID-19 testing at the facilities. Having already established a relationship with the facilities, they were a perfect fit to help implement the grant.
 
In addition to conducting assessments at the facilities, CHP will train WCCHD’s Medical Reserve Corps volunteers to be able to conduct assessments either by phone or by video. CHP has developed an electronic tool that can be used to perform the assessments, which include review of policies and procedures, planning and reporting, training, and direct observation. 
The grant period started October 1 and ends July 31, 2021.