College kids key in Covid coping

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

A team of college students is helping Warren County Health weather Covid.

“Their energy, excitement and enthusiasm,” plus their tech savvy and work ethic, has taken some of the burden off the staff of the Health Department, its director Ginelle Jones tells The Chronicle. “Until this June, when for a while things slowed down, we were going 7 days a week,” Ms. Jones said. “They can stay up all night, working late. They’re not dragging like the rest of us. The number-one thing is the personality they bring. When things were ratcheting up, they were fresh. It’s been a nice complement to our overworked and overburdened staff.”

“Number two,” Ms. Jones said, is the college students’ know-how. “They saw right away, there were apps, ways to set it up so we could share documents. It would have taken me and (assistant health director) Patricia Belden hours working with the county IT people to do that. We’re still using it now.”

The County already worked with some colleges to offer clinical experience. “With all the excitement of early spring 2020, we thought it might be good to put some college kids on board,” Ms. Jones said.

She created Public Assistant jobs, funded mostly through federal grants (filtered through the state to the county), in the health department budget.

The funding can support as many as 20 positions; they typically have around 18 active, Ms. Jones said.

She said the per diem jobs pay a little over $19 an hour. “They can help pay their college bills, and at that level, we can get a higher caliber person.”

“At first we had two students,” Ms. Jones said. “It was working so well, we brought on more and more.”

The mostly local students are in college or grad school “for pre-med, nursing, public health.” At first they were home anyway, when colleges went remote. Now, they come back for the summer, and several work remotely from school when they have time, Ms. Jones said.

As the pandemic proceeded, she said she’s also hired recent college grads who weren’t able, right away, to find jobs in their fields. “As they get real-person jobs and leave, others — other students, or maybe people in the community who are retired — come in and pick up the slack again. If someone leaves, another always seems to come in, easily filling the gaps with their own unique niches, each helping with different needs.”

What they do: Contact tracing, calling on quarantined residents who need extra support, even delivering supplies or groceries to homebound quarantined. They also support health professionals at vaccination and testing sites by doing data entry, for example. “They’ve been a very valuable work force,” says Ms. Jones.

Emma Nelson, 22, a 2018 Queensbury graduate and first-year grad student pursuing her doctorate in Physical Therapy at Quinnipiac University, Connecticut, is one of the Covid contact tracers working per diem for Warren County.

“I started in August 2020,” Emma says. “Now I work breaks and a little bit remotely on weekends. It’s very flexible. I want to do what I can because they’re all working like crazy there.”

She says, “It’s reinforced my belief that I want to work in health care. I want to have patients and help them, to be on their journey to get better. I love talking with the public. I like the bond.

“The pay has been a help through the pandemic, but it’s not the driving force. I wanted to do something. At the beginning of the pandemic I was so nervous. Since learning so much, I’m not afraid of it. Going through the trainings, I’ve been able to live better and put my mind at ease.”

Deanna Lebel, 21, also Queensbury class of ’18, now a senior at St. Lawrence University, started with the county in March 2020, when her college went remote. “I’ve loved every minute of it,” she says. “It really solidified what I want to do. I was a pre-med drop-out,” Deana says. “I fell in love with public health, learning about the social determinants of health. It’s what I hope to pursue in grad school next year.”

“I took Intro to Public Health, we went remote, and that all happened during Covid,” when she started with the County.

“It’s been all green lights ever since. It really showed me what Public Health is in the real world. I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life,” Deana says.

“The biggest thing is to help people. You’re not in the office with a patient for 15 minutes, but you are affecting people’s lives in a real way.”

Emma enjoys connecting with individuals. “I talked about one person while contact tracing, struggling a lot and very scared of the pandemic. I talked with them for over an hour, calming them down, and in the end they said, ‘You’re like an angel.’ I’m glad I can help. It’s scary for a lot of people. That was rewarding for me. It’s why I put in all those hours.”

Deanna said, “At the beginning, it was all new to us. There were no systems in place. We were scrambling to keep records and didn’t know much about the virus. I helped develop the system to keep records, using Excel sheets, and creating lists for EMTs and the Sheriffs, so they had a database, to know when they were getting a call if they are going to a Covid positive house.”

Among Deanna’s tasks: “Working the computers,” to help secure supplies for nursing homes, for example, early on, providing data and spreadsheets to help Warren County Health Director Ginelle Jones make the case to the state for local needs. Also, contact tracing, supporting vaccination and testing sites.

“Looking back it was a very stressful time and enlightening to be able to help,” says Deanna.

Emma says, “Everyone at the county is so nice and caring, led by Ginelle Jones. She works so hard, and she’s so positive. She is leading by great example.”

Both students say the college group includes several friends co-recruited from high school. “It’s brought us all closer,” Deanna said. “It’s definitely good to have people in my age cohort as well. Everyone is always working as a team there, everyone with the same passion. We are all trying our hardest. Despite the circumstances, it has been a great experience.”

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