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We recently announced that Maximus is now assisting communities in five states with their contact tracing programs. Since April, Maximus has recruited, hired, trained, and deployed home-based contract tracers and disease investigators to support programs in Indiana, Florida, Kentucky, and Pima County, Arizona. Most recently, the Department of Health for Springfield-Greene County, Missouri, contracted with Maximus to provide supplemental support for contact tracers to expand their program.

Maximus began partnering with states to support contact tracing programs at the onset of the pandemic and has now deployed more than 5,700 home-based agents to support program surges related to COVID-19 — including more than 1,800 contract tracers and disease investigators. Working in concert with our public health clients and stakeholders, Maximus helped some programs contact 75 percent of positive individuals — reaching most within 24 hours.

“Contact tracing is critically important to limiting the spread of COVID-19,” said Ilene Baylinson, General Manager of U.S. Health and Human Services, Maximus. “We must reach people quickly to protect others from potential infection. We must also be respectful of their feelings and be sensitive to the personal nature of the questions we must ask. Key to making contact tracing successful is engagement of community leaders and local resources to create support and trust in the program.”

In addition to infectious disease prevention basics and epidemiology, the curriculum used for training Maximus contact tracers emphasizes empathy when approaching people recently diagnosed with COVID-19. The curriculum, developed by Maximus Public Health (MPH), includes tailored policies and guidance on adversely impacted populations, such as Native Americans, Latinx, and African American communities. Earlier this year, Maximus established MPH to serve as a resource to governments to help them meet their public health needs which expanded rapidly due to COVID-19.

To learn more about how Maximus helps governments support contact tracing, please visit: maximus.com/contact-tracing.

View the press release