Page 45 - FCW, August 2020

A cloud-based platform that pulls information from across the health care system helped Virginia officials get a handle on the opioid abuse crisis and is now streamlining resource allocation during the pandemic.
were struggling to obtain PPE. “We were able to make that data available to VDEM — and they handle a lot of logistics and supply-chain issues during emergencies — so they were able to help get those places the supplies they needed,” Rivero said. Since then, no organizations have reported problems.
Shifting the focus to
economic recovery
Another dataset from VDH and the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services shows the number of specimens tested at state labs — not
to be confused with the number of people tested because one person can have multiple tests. Initially, not many labs were performing COVID- 19 tests, but now they perform more than 10,000 tests per day, Rivero said.
In addition, the agencies sort the number of individuals tested per day by ZIP Code to help local officials determine how to allocate coverage.
“This is a platform where we’re not just integrating and consolidating data, but we’re making data accessible to the decision-makers who need to take action,” Rivero said.
Recently, he has begun to shift his focus from health care to economic recovery by looking for data sources that could support the $14.7 million Economic Resilience and Recovery Program that Northam announced in June. One project includes $75,000 to test using drones to deliver COVID- 19 medical supplies and equipment. FAACT could help identify areas that would benefit from such a service.
Northam has also announced a new suite of technology tools to help the hundreds of thousands of Virginians who have applied for unemployment
benefits since March. The Virginia Career Works Referral Portal is a statewide platform that streamlines intake processes at state agencies and connects people with training,
certification, education and employment services. The Virginia Career Works Dashboard is a data visualization tool designed to make information about the labor market more accessible. ■
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