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Polk County's New Tool Tracks School Illnesses
18 Jul
Summary
- A new dashboard will automatically track student illnesses in Polk County schools.
- The tool aims to detect and mitigate potential outbreaks early.
- Polk County Health Department is partnering with Des Moines University.
Polk County's Health Department is developing a new dashboard to streamline the tracking of illnesses within its school districts. This tool will automatically aggregate student illness and absence data, serving as an early warning system for county health officials to identify and address potential outbreaks within the community.
The dashboard will provide real-time data, allowing officials to monitor symptoms before they escalate to a 10% absence threshold. This granular insight, without revealing student identities, is expected to enhance mitigation efforts like advising schools on cleaning and parent communication.
In addition to the tracking tool, the Polk County Health Department has partnered with Des Moines University. This collaboration will focus on research and workforce development, allowing health officials access to university expertise and research databases, while offering students internship and research opportunities.
