08 May 2020 – Dept of Health to hire hundreds of Louisianans as contact tracers

Type of Intervention: Guidance, Specific Action
Sectors Involved: Health
Intervention Categories: Surveillance and response measures; Tracing and quarantining contacts
Level of Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Lead People/Agency: Governor John Bel Edwards

Overview: Governor John Bel Edwards and the Louisiana Department of Health outlined a plan for COVID-19 testing and tracking that would hire as many as 700 Louisianans to serve as “contact tracers,” interviewing and advising people who have tested positive to determine who in their lives could also be at risk. This week, LDH signed a contract with Accenture and Salesforce to manage Louisiana’s contact tracing process, using two Louisiana-based call centers with 100 percent Louisiana agents. The training for these contact tracers will be managed by LSU’s Stephenson Disaster Management Institute. While hiring will be statewide the initial locations for the call centers are based in the Lafayette and New Orleans areas.
Full details here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2487

Type of Justification: Advice of EXTERNAL expert advisor or advisory committee, Advice of EXTERNAL group of non-academics (e.g. business or community leaders)
Evidence/Justification: LDH signed a contract with Accenture and Salesforce to manage Louisiana’s contact tracing process.