BALTIMORE — City leaders and their partners on Thursday released findings of the Baltimore Health Corps Pilot’s Early Lessons Report, published by the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health.
Launched in June of last year, the Baltimore Health Corps was tapped with recruiting, training, and employing local citizens who lost their job during COVID-19, to improve contact tracing efforts.
The report found that all 275 hires were made by the end of this past January .
Of the new employees, more than 85 percent were previously unemployed, furloughed, or underemployed, and about 70 percent lived in Baltimore City, and at least 65 percent are people of color.
According to the report, the Baltimore Health Corps helped to interview more people who had tested positive for COVID-19 from a 67 to 73 percent margin. Out of those, 78 percent completed the interview as opposed to 50 percent beforehand.
Together they were able to go from reaching 67 percent of contacts to 80 percent within 24 hours.
Additionally, care coordination increased by 126 percent in referral volume, with the most common requests being access to food (33 percent), commodities/supplies (14 percent), quarantine support (13 percent), help with utilities (11 percent), and housing (8 percent).
“This pilot demonstrates how we can put public health into action to improve people’s lives. I am hopeful that other cities and counties will follow the lead of the Baltimore Health Corps to create good jobs, improve equity, and address the pandemic,” said Dr. Boris D. Lushniak, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health.
While most positions have been filled, there are still jobs available.
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