Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
COVID-19 Call Center Closures Reflect Sign of the Times
As the nation becomes more vaccinated against COVID-19 and approaches a point where everyone who wants a vaccine is able to get one, many temporary contact centers set up to field questions and appointments for vaccines are rolling up the carpet.
In Will County, Illinois, a call center run by Harris & Harris Ltd was brought online in the spring to field between 4,500 and 6,500 inbound calls per day. Call center representatives assisted residents with scheduling vaccination appointments and responded to public questions about scheduling and related inquiries, according to local news source The Times Weekly. Now that those numbers have begun to fall off – with daily calls averaging between 50 and 150 – the county has announced it will terminate its contract with Harris & Harris, and the county health department will return to handling COVID-19 vaccine questions without outside assistance.
“As the number of inbound calls decreased, the Health Department began having call center representatives make outbound calls to residents to inquire if assistance is needed with scheduling,” according to The Times Weekly. “This was done in addition to the call center representatives fielding inbound calls.”
As part of the terms of service, the County Executive’s Office provided 60 days’ notice to Harris & Harris that the county will terminate the contract at the conclusion of the contract term on August 31, 2021. The Will County Board allocated $2 million from contingency for the cost of the project. A final expense report will be provided at the conclusion of the contract.
Last month, the Eau Claire City-County Health Department (ECCCHD) in Wisconsin announced the closure of its specialty COVID-19 call center, which opened in March 2020 as a way for area residents to ask COVID-19 questions. The resource was done in partnership with UW-Eau Claire. In nearly 15 months of operation, the call center took 10,718 calls. Residents with questions were encouraged to call the ECCCHD at 715-839-4718 or visit covid19eauclaire.org.
Edited by Luke Bellos