Heluna Health’s Response

Heluna Health’s program staff are on the front lines responding to COVID-19 (the illness caused by the novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2). We are working closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the California Department of Public Health, and many other local jurisdictions supporting a comprehensive response to this global pandemic. We are focused on protecting our most vulnerable populations, as well as those who serve them.

Vaccine Distribution

• Heluna Health is providing staffing, procurement, contracting and other key infrastructure support to stand up immediate and widespread vaccination.

Distributing PPE

• Generous donors to our COVID-19 Response Fund have allowed us to provide much needed personal protective equipment to frontline clinical and community workers in counties with high caseloads.

Frontline Responders

• Heluna Health’s program staff are an integral part of ‘incident command structures’.

Expansion of COVID-19 Testing

• We are partnering with local health jurisdictions to support expanded testing, particularly in high risk and congregate settings.

Surge hiring of clinical and public health staff

• We are helping clinical and public health entities respond as rapidly as possible by surge hiring MDs, RNS, EMTs, RTs, epidemiologists, microbiologists, community health workers, and supply chain staff.

Research

• We are supporting NIH-funded COVID-19 vaccine trials and investigating the impact of COVID-19 on participants of the USDA WIC program.

Case Investigation and Contact Tracing

• Heluna Health is standing up and training cohorts of case investigators and contact tracers in partnership with local health and state health departments, when needed.

Core Administrative Support/Fiscal Sponsorship

• We are working with the CDC, as well as state and local health departments to efficiently deploy funds that directly support the COVID-19 response.

Supporting Unhoused Populations

• Our outreach teams are working to help transition persons experiencing homelessness into ‘shelter-in-place’ & ‘isolation/quarantine’ locations (such as hotels and RVs). We are also providing additional education and support, as needed.

Dedicated Support to Meet Basic Needs

• We are providing food and other basic necessities to low-income families and at-risk youth who have been so deeply impacted by the economic dislocation caused by the pandemic.

Trusted Resources

We have compiled a list of trusted resources from reputable organizations in the field focused on COVID-19 research, policy, communication strategies, and more.

COVID-19 Research and Policy

• World Health Organization Coronavirus Website
• Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering Real-time COVID-19 Case Map
• The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) Coronavirus Website
• The White House COVID-19 Plan
• The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) COVID-19 Projections
• National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) Local Health Department Directory
• Johns Hopkins University eSchool+ Initiative Analysis of School Reopening Plans

Local Health Departments

• California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Coronavirus Website
• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) Coronavirus Website
• San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) Coronavirus Website

Vaccines

• CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Information
• CDPH COVID-19 Vaccination Information
• USFDA Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines Explained
• KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor
• Immunization Action Coalition (IAC): Common Questions about Vaccines
• Stop the Spread: Tool Outreach Toolkit for Pop-up Vaccination Sites

Schools

• Johns Hopkins University eSchool+ Initiative Analysis of School Reopening Plans
• Health Action Alliance: Resources to Help You Take Action

Multilingual Resources

• UCLA COVID-19 Multilingual Resources
• APHA: COVIDGuia.org (Spanish)

Communicating COVID-19

• Communicate Health: Stronger’s Fight Against Vaccine Misinformation
• Stronger: How to spot misinformation
• First Draft: Tracking the infodemic
• Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC): COVID-19 Booster Dose Messaging and Outreach Tools
• Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC): Children and COVID-19 Vaccination

We Can Help You Manage the COVID-19 Response

If you are a health department, government agency, or part of another organization responding to this crisis and need staffing, contact investigation/contact tracing expansion, procurement or other fiscal and administrative support, please contact us at contracts@helunahealth.org or 1.800.201.7320. We will work with you as flexibly as possible to help meet your needs.

Donate to Our COVID-19 Response Fund

As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the health and well-being of our communities, we and our program partners are working on the front lines to stop the spread of this virus in communities with the greatest need. Please join us in supporting these heroes. Learn more