2020 Oakland County “Safe for School” Hotline

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

In the fall of 2020, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners (BOC), in partnership with Beaumont Health, launched the “Safe for School” Hotline to address parent and school concerns related to sending students to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. As additional research was presented by the nation’s health leaders and the COVID-19 pandemic was altering the way students receive education in Oakland County, the purpose of the hotline was to provide parents and guardians with information that would help them determine if it was safe to send their children to school. The telephone screening hotline assisted parents and guardians by pre-screening and identifying potential illness in students prior to entering a school. Hotline staff answered questions about COVID-19 symptoms, the need for testing and what circumstances are considered high-risk when sending a child into a school facility. In addition, the hotline served as a resource by referring some callers to the county’s Health Division or other healthcare providers for additional follow-up. As a result, the hotline answered more than 130 calls over the course of two months.