Photo By Maj. Sam Otto | Staff Sgt. David Mertz, 185th Air Refueling Wing, Air National Guard prepares to make...... read more read more
SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Task Force West created a call center on the air base of the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, Iowa by the request of the governor to assist the Iowa Department of Public Health to collect voluntary data from residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soldiers from the Army National Guard and Airmen from the Air National Guard came together to form the call center. Service Members asked questions over the phone to people who tested positive for the Corona-virus to better understand whom they came into contact with.
Service Members arrive every morning to a new list of names. IDPH provides the lists that vary from over a hundred to less then 50. If the person tested positive and interacted with people the call center makes follow on calls.
“It is not as simple as making one phone call,” said Senior Master Sgt. David LeTexier, Call Center Lead. “It could be a half of a day for one name depending on how many people they came into contact with.”
Members of the National Guard are trained to be proficient in their Military Occupation Specialty or Air Force Specialty Code, which does not include being a part of a call center.
“Everything has a learning curve,” said Staff Sgt. David Mertz, member of the call center. “We all came together as a group, perfected what we are doing and are pretty efficient now.”
“We didn’t have to many barriers because nobody had a background in a call center, we were all in the same boat,” said LeTexier. “It was really eye opening, we all have skills we didn’t know about and they came floating to the surface.”
IDPH provided training for members of the call center before making their first calls. This provided them with a tablet, phones to make calls, and scripts to read to each individual.
“It was a little nerve racking to make that first call,” said LeTexier. “We had a bunch of people sitting around one person who made that initial call, after that we split off into teams of two and partnered Army with Air and Air with Army.”
Each branch of service has a different approach to problem solving and planning. With the call center having two components everyone was able to learn something new.
“We have a great relationship between the Army and Air,” said Mertz. “They are learning from us, we are learning from them, it has been a great opportunity for everyone.”
Although this has been a new experience for most of the Service Members the call center has shown by working together they are able to accomplish any mission.
“I feel we can overcome any challenge that is given to us, largely through communication and having can do attitudes,” said LaTexier. “We did not understanding what we were getting into but through dialogue we really overcame any obstacle.”
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2020 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 371485 |
| Location: | SIOUX CITY, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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