At a time of crisis, it is essential that individuals
and organizations alike work collaboratively for the better good. As we wait
for the next response from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention to provide guidance on the measures needed
to be taken, Wright County is stepping up its efforts to provide information
for its citizens that goes beyond the tireless job being done by Wright County
Public Health to respond to whatever twist or turn is coming next.
A pair of county departments have brought their expertise
with some outside the box thinking to assist in the COVID-19 response that have
helped make Wright County unique.
The county’s Information Technology Department has set
up a text-enabled hotline at (763) 682-7607, which is believed to be the first
of its kind in the state. This innovation can be extremely useful if calls to
the hotline start to backlog, given that reading a text is often a quicker,
more effective way of communicating. The text-enabled hotline makes it easier
for Public Health staff to address the concerns and questions that are coming
from residents.
As part of the listing of resources residents have
access to in the county, which can be found at http://www.co.wright.mn.us/948/Resources,
the GIS (Geographic Information System) division of the Wright County Surveyor’s
Department has provided an interactive map to show residents where to locate
food resources, pharmacies and mental health services that, when clicked on,
gives the address, phone number, links to their websites and Google directions
to their locations to make communicating with them markedly faster and easier.
It has been said that dealing with COVID-19 is going
to be a marathon, not a sprint, but Wright County departments are working together
with the goal of assisting the citizens of the county, whether their efforts
are outwardly noticeable or not. That will continue countywide until the all-clear
eventually comes and lives return to normal.
