The technology platform is being used to deepen impact of CDPH COVID-19 contact tracing efforts and several other programs; community-wide data will also identify real-time resource gaps
CHICAGO, December 9, 2020 – NowPow’s personalized community referral platform is being used by the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to create a digital infrastructure for efforts to strengthen equitable access to community resources and promote optimal health and well-being across the city. CDPH joins the hundreds of organizations across Chicago using NowPow’s platform to identify Chicagoans’ health and social needs and connect people to community resources that can meet those needs.
CDPH is leveraging NowPow’s platform to extend the reach of its COVID-19 contact tracing efforts. When residents are asked to quarantine, the public health department’s resource coordinators utilize NowPow’s platform to assess for needs like safe housing, food or medication delivery, financial assistance, or support for loneliness. They then use the platform to connect Chicagoans to community services that are available online or for home delivery. These services are highly matched to a person’s needs, as well as their age, gender, eligibility, location, preferred language and insurance status.
“At NowPow, a company headquartered on the South Side of Chicago by birth and by choice, we are a determined partner in the pursuit of health equity in Chicago,” said Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MAPP, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of NowPow. “We know — now more than ever — that most of what each of us does to stay healthy and manage with illness happens outside the doctor’s office, at home and in our communities. We know that every community has vital resources to support wellness, independence and living with illness, but these resources are only as good as the ability of Chicagoans to access them. Our platform will foster vital connections in and across our communities. It will also yield powerful new data to help the city of Chicago identify real-time resource gaps and opportunities to expand resource capacity, quality and accessibility.”
In addition to use by the Resource Coordinators for the Contact Tracing program, CDPH has implemented NowPow to support maternal-child and HIV programs, and plans to do so for mental health as well, to increase access for services needed for vulnerable populations. As part of these programs, CDPH staff utilize NowPow’s platform to screen for needs and make connections to vital services. Chicagoans can also search for services on their own using digital resource community directories, powered by NowPow: Healthy Chicago Babies and Chicago Connects.
Since going live on the platform in September, CDPH has matched Chicagoans to more than 19,000 services. As the partnership evolves, CDPH will also use NowPow’s platform to enable participating community-based organizations to track and coordinate referrals to “close the loop” and improve engagement.
“Just as contact tracing is vital to public health, so too is making sure people have access to the social services they need to effectively quarantine,” said Christina Anderson, deputy commissioner at CDPH who’s leading the department’s COVID response. “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, it’s critical that residents know what supports are available and where to find them. With this technology, we’re able to connect people to vital social services and resources that can help meet their needs.”
NowPow is a tech company based in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, where the idea to build community referral networks was born in 2016. Today, NowPow’s platform supports community referral networks across the nation, including Chicago. Community-based organizations that would like to learn more about participating in a NowPow referral network can visit www.nowpow.com/cboplugin.
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About NowPow
NowPow’s personalized community referral platform reflects the current COVID-19 operating status for more than 65,000 community services in 15 geographies. NowPow’s referrals are highly matched and filtered, making it easy to connect people to just the right community resources so everyone can stay well, meet basic needs, manage with illness and care for others. NowPow’s unique population health solution also provides deep community resource and referral insights to support process improvement, network health and quality, and care access and experience. Find more information at www.NowPow.com.
Contact:
Patty Keiler, patty@collaborate.health, 312-550-5394