Washington County Public Health is using grant funding to resolve technological issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public Health Director Emily Tokheim and Fiscal Administrator Peggy Wood presented a quote of about $26,667 for a new phone system from Tri-City Communications based out of Davenport. Wood noted that Tri-City is the same provider as the rest of the county offices, as Sharon Telephone Company relinquished this particular phone service to that provider. Wood believes their current system is around 16 years old, “We all know of the catastrophe we had during the pandemic, with the influx of calls and crashing not only our phone system but the county phone system.”

Wood says the new system will not solve a current connectivity issue they have with the courthouse, but it does offer a contract-free monthly service to provide six additional phone lines to their standard four. That fee is said to be around $120 and Wood says they intend to try the service out. She also emphasized the portability of the system to connect with the existing county phones, which would be especially useful as their current lease with Federation Bank ends in 2023. Tokheim shared that this quote will be entirely covered by the state’s public health emergency preparedness grant program under the umbrella of information technology upgrades. She mentioned there are allowable items with the grant for homeless populations and needs for which she has contacted community partners to use those funds. The state has already given their approval for purchase of a phone system, and the board of health approved the quote unanimously.