JACKSON COUNTY (WSIL) -- The Jackson County Health Department is getting a $2.8 million boost in funding through a grant with the Illinois Department of Public Health, with funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.
In a partnership between Jackson County Health Department, Southern Illinois University, and Southern Illinois Healthcare, an increase in COVID-19 testing and contact tracing will ramp up in the region starting next week. Southern Illinois Healthcare will conduct testing on campus twice a week, as well as increase on-and-off site testing at its facilities.
Jackson County Health officials say the funding is "very important at this time" the area is experiencing an increase in positivity rates, and they say it is already funding an increase in manpower to help stop the spread of the virus.
"That is a lot of money to us, but we are using it wisely," explains Bart Hagston, JCHD Administrator. "We've added here at the health department 15 people to our team to help us address contact tracing and other various aspects of the COVID response."
According the the health department, funding the purchase of lab and testing equipment, made possible through the grant, will speed up turnaround time on test results.
"The number of cases in Jackson County really reflects what's going on state-wide, as well as nationally with upticks in cases over the last month or so," says Hagston. "So, we're utilizing these dollars at a very good time and putting them to work to allow us to quickly identify those people that are positive to place them in isolation and then to quarantine any other close contacts, so we do all that work to prevent further spread of this disease."
Health Officials add that the impact of this grant will be visible in the coming weeks as they increase those testing sites. They say results from those test are due back anywhere between 24 and 48 hours.
