Title: EMERGE COVID-19: Engaging Milwaukee in Emergency Response for Greater EquityThrough EMERGE COVID-19, we aim to expand access to COVID-19 preventative services through culturally competent communications, community-based testing and contact tracing, expand data infrastructure to capture social determinants of health and health disparities, build a more diverse and inclusive public health workforce, and facilitate cross-sectoral partnerships to address the fundamental causes of health inequities. We aim to increase and improve data collection and reporting for populations experiencing a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection, severe illness, and death to guide the response to the COVID-19 pandemic; build, leverage, and expand infrastructure support for COVID-19 prevention and control, and mobilize partners and collaborators to advance health equity and address social determinants of health as they relate to COVID-19 health disparities among populations at higher risk and that are underserved. Community Health Workers will be deployed to facilitate data collection, disseminate culturally competent COVID-19 information developed collaboratively with a team of Marketing & Communications Coordinators, Graphic Designers, and Consultants, and connect underserved populations to testing and contact tracing for COVID-19. We will also create Public Health Strategist roles focused on economic security, housing, community resilience and mental health, employ a diverse team of Community Health Workers, build a team of culturally competent health communicators, and expand the number of epidemiologists and data coordinators trained to collect and report data on race and ethnic disparities, grounded in the social determinants of health. Public Health Strategists will facilitate cross-sectoral partnerships to address underlying causes of COVID-19 disparities, support the development of a post-COVID Strategic Plan and After Action Report to info
rm future emergency responses in collaboration with consultants and community partners to center health equity as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic.