The COVID-Connect portal has been developed in response to the evolving and emergent needs of Ohio communities related to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID Connect links Ohio organizations with faculty and subject matter experts in various fields from across Ohio’s universities and professional communities. The Center for Public Health Practice at the Ohio State College of Public Health will connect organizations with academic and practice professionals to provide assistance with data and information, support local communication activities, and assist in the management of current and future needs faced by communities dealing with the pandemic.
Currently, supported areas include: data sciences; public health sciences (e.g. assessment, epidemiology, evaluation); engineering; social and behavioral sciences (e.g. addressing vulnerable populations); communications; and business operations and logistics. This list is a sample of the expertise available to organizations. If an area of need is not listed here, a request can still be made. The database is updated frequently, and all requests are monitored in an attempt to connect agencies and new volunteers as they are identified. Please share this resource broadly with your community partners and be sure to enroll yourself through the portal if you want to be on the list of those with expertise to share or to be found locally as a professional or volunteer for boots on the ground efforts in your county. The overall goal is to track our OSU COVID-19 efforts and to make additional connections between our Columbus campus and our statewide campuses.