HSR.health Introduces School Safety Index for Assessing Pandemic Risks of In-Person Education
New health index can help school systems & administrators understand and mitigate the risk of disease transmission on a per-school and per-classroom basis.
ROCKVILLE Md., May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HSR.health, a leading provider of health-focused geospatial data analytics, announced the release of its 'School Safety Index', the latest rollout in its suite of health risk indices. This first-of-its-kind index leverages the company's proprietary Transmission Risk Index along with an advanced AI-model to determine how to safely reopen schools for classroom instruction—including mitigating potential exposure to new variants.
As schools across the country prepare to reopen their doors this fall, the risks remain high. Despite falling case rates and vaccinations, COVID-19 is expected to be with us for many months to come. Some experts do not see a return to the pre-2020 way of life within the next two years. There's also the possibility of future pandemics and other health crises.
"Research has shown that more than half of the student population nationwide have lacked the motivation and engagement to successfully learn in a remote setting," says Ajay Gupta, CEO of HSR.health. "Our goal for the School Safety Index is to provide administrators with the accurate data insights they need to make well-informed decisions and safely return both students and teachers to the classroom."
Recognizing the need for better pandemic response, HSR.health quickly pivoted at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis by adapting its Health Risk Index model and developing both a COVID-19 Transmission Risk Index to predict the location of future outbreaks, as well as a Mortality Risk Index to identify the regions with the highest risk of critical illness and death due to the virus. Now, the team is working to produce additional risk indices and a digital response platform to identify and mitigate the impact of potential future pandemics.
On the heels of the new rollout, the company is also proud to announce that Amanda M Melvin, Public Health Analyst intern who has accepted a full-time role starting this summer at HSR.health, has received the Gold Public Health Innovation Award through her leadership in building the School Safety Index. Awarded for creative solutions to one of the world's most complex public health issues, the Gold Public Health Innovation Award is selected by a panel of thought leaders and health entrepreneurs, and carries a $750 cash prize. The award was announced at the University of Maryland School of Public Health's Innovation in Public Health Seminar on April 23, 2021.
ABOUT HSR.HEALTH:
HSR.health is an emerging health tech firm based in Rockville, MD that delivers the only cloud-based analytics and visualization platform that merges data on social determinants of health with social media data, health outcomes, and costs to extract clinical insights. Their GeoHealth Platform is designed to offer point-of-care decision support, anticipate future healthcare delivery needs, and serve the diverse needs of health systems, health plans, regulators and insurers. Most recently, HSR.health pivoted and developed products to aid and improve global pandemic response. To learn more, visit HSR.health.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nina Pfister, MAG PR, [email protected], 781-929-5620
SOURCE HSR.health
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