Technology leaders across the country faced unique challenges as a result of COVID-19, and Jason Frame, CIO of the Southern Nevada Health District, is intimately familiar with those challenges. At the onset of the pandemic, Frame quickly transitioned his staff to work remotely, rolled out applications to keep the public informed and provided SNHD’s disease surveillance team with contact tracing and monitoring assistance.
As one the largest local public health organizations in the country, SNHD serves more than 2.2 million residents and is responsible for safeguarding the public health of more than 42 million visitors annually. Because of Frame’s work, SNHD was able to help manage and distribute vital information to residents of Southern Nevada during the global health crisis.
Frame’s team at SNHD rolled out three applications during this time. The first mobile app allows people who have been exposed to COVID-19 to record and submit their temperature and symptoms. The second app facilitates contact tracing by allowing the disease surveillance team to send out mass messages notifying contacts who have tested positive. The third app automates the contact tracing process by notifying people who have tested positive and the people who have been in contact with them. In the first six weeks, 17,250 positive patients were automatically notified, and they provided more than 35,000 contacts who were automatically messaged about the potential exposure. This immediate information network may have prevented countless cases.
This innovative technology is only one example of Frame’s unwavering leadership, particularly during a time of crisis. He has also helped with other COVID response projects, including the implementation of the eClinicalWorks telehealth module.