COLUMBUS — Bartholomew County is investing in several changes needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, with plans to have all costs submitted for reimbursement through the federal CARES Act Provider Relief fund.
The most expensive upgrade will change how court hearings are conducted, county information technology director Scott Mayes said.
Up to $200,000 will be spent to upgrade the audio/video systems in the three main courtrooms, as well as provide state-of the-art teleconferencing equipment in each room.
Judges say the needs of their courts have evolved over the past months, and they need high-quality teleconferencing to conduct more virtual hearings than what was previously allowed, Mayes said.
“Our existing (audio and video) equipment was primarily installed in 2003,” Mayes said. “That was before Zoom and other teleconferencing solutions ever existed. It was just not designed to properly and reliably handle the interactive type of teleconferencing we do today.”
These upgrades will increase the amount of social distancing while allowing judges to continue to have court sessions – “even if people are in isolation, unable to make it to the courthouse, or it’s just not safe for them to be here,” Mayes said.
The new audio/video systems will be compatible with new web conferencing software such as ZOOM, as well as provide the courts more recording reliability that the 17-year-old existing equipment, the county IT director said.
Notice to potential vendors has been approved, with the opening of bids scheduled for Nov. 30.
Contact tracing
The Indiana State Department of Health is asking county health department for assistance in contact tracing for COVID-19 patients.
Earlier this year, the ISDH asked the Bartholomew County Health Department to give them full control of contact testing for COVID-19 patients, county nursing division director Amanda Organist said.
“But they can’t keep up with everything so they are sending a lot of them back to the local health department, she said.
Generally, there are five different steps taken during contact testing, according to state health officials.
- Interviewing people with COVID-19 to identify everyone with whom they had close contact during the time they may have been infectious and ask for information about symptoms and exposure.
- Notifying contacts of their potential exposure.
- Referring contacts for testing.
- Monitoring contacts for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
- Connecting contacts with services they might need during the self-quarantine period.
When a person is first identified with the virus, the state will still initially attempt to contact them, Organist said. However, if that individual be reached, the matter will be turned over to the county health department for contact testing and investigation, she said.
On Monday, the commissioners agreed to hire Evan Raymer to help Organist’s staff get through the growing number of COVID-19 case investigations. Raymer, who will graduate from college in December, will be working 24 hours a week for the next six months at $25 an hour.
Courthouse entrance
After the commissioners approved an X-ray baggage scanner for the Bartholomew County Courthouse entranceearlier this year, county maintenance director Rick Trimpe said the main entrance will have to be modified. The entrance already had a security station that monitors areas throughout the courthouse, as well as a metal detector.
Trimpe said it will be necessary to replace all glass and aluminum frames at the entrance. The commissioners accepted an proposal from Tom Smith Glass Co. of Columbus to do the work for $8,000.
