NEWBERRY COUNTY – Piedmont Technical College (PTC) recently added one of the latest tools to help combat the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate emerging workforce needs related to it.
“We have an entirely new course that we are offering, called Contact Tracking. It is the first of its kind in South Carolina, ”said Steve McDade, manager of the continuing education health program. “We work closely with DHEC (State Department of Health and Environmental Control) to develop it.”
“Contact tracking” became part of the global collective vocabulary last year, as the global pandemic continues. The practice of contact tracking essentially involves the work of a health care detective with the aim of reducing the spread of a disease or virus in the community. It is a powerful non-pharmaceutical method to mitigate disease transmission, which currently focuses on COVID-19.
The investigators work to identify all people who have come into contact with a confirmed infected patient and notify those contacts that they have been exposed to someone with a positive test. These individuals are then asked to voluntarily quarantine (in the case of COVID-19, for at least 14 days). It is also important that they are linked to the tests and care available.
“We have been in the first cohort for two weeks and it is going very well,” said instructor David Porter. “The class involves skills that many people look for when they hire contact trackers.”
Contact trackers need to understand policies related to patient confidentiality and respect that privacy during an investigation. In fact, even the contacts are not provided with the identity of the infected patient. They will need a good command of medical terminology and should be trained in interview skills that include tact, crisis counseling and multicultural sensitivity. They will also need to be resourceful in finding contacts that may be difficult to reach or reluctant to cooperate.
Those who successfully complete the four-week course will receive an ASTHO (Association of Territorial and State Health Officials) certificate in contact tracking, which is a requirement for employment in organizations that perform contact tracking.
The course is individualized in the college’s D2L operating system.
“Students need to be motivated and able to work independently,” said Porter. “Many of the contact tracker jobs are homework assignments, so they must be able to work independently.”
While the course is online, there are ample opportunities for engagement.
“We post discussion posts every week so that I can interact with students,” said Porter. “We pre-recorded contact tracking interviews. There are many opportunities for engagement ”.
“Communities must expand and train a large workforce and work collaboratively between public and private agencies to stop transmission of COVID-19,” said SCDHEC on its website.
And now PTC is responding to this need for an emerging workforce.
“We are excited to be able to offer the first cohort,” said McDade. “We are going to offer one Contact Tracking course per month. If you are 18 or over and are a resident of South Carolina, you probably qualify for this free course. It even covers books. The only thing the student must pay is the certification exam. “
To learn more, visit www.ptc.edu/quickskills.