(WSIL)---Testing positive for COVID-19 means, at minimum, a 10 day quarantine.
For many, things like housing, paying utilities, and even accessing food, can be difficult when you can't leave your home.
So the IDPH funded the COVID-19 Pandemic Health Navigator Program.
"What we basically are doing is partnering with community based organizations and federally qualified healthcare centers who have hired hundreds of local community healthcare workers to fill resource requests that come in from individuals that have been negatively impacted due to COVID," said Tracey Smith, Director of Community Health and Programs at the Illinois Public Health Association.
While the program itself does not pay for services needed, they act as a liaison to connect those who need help with the services they need.
"It was started because of all of these unique struggles that we were seeing coming about because of the quarantine and isolation that is part of our mechanism as a public health system to control the spread of COVID-19," said Smith.
Smith also said the program is especially helpful now, because Region 5's ICU bed unavailability means there most likely many people who are in quarantine that could use their services.
"This program can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by helping people to stay isolated in quarantine. That way we can protect the hospital beds that we have, the ICU beds, and not fill up our hospitals and ICU beds with the virus. With individuals who are really struggling with the virus. So we have to stop the spread to control that," Smith said.
To contact the Pandemic Health Navigator Program, you can visit their to find local organizations in your region.
