ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The City of St. Augustine is launching a health monitoring initiative that will begin with its distribution of 600 thermometers to the community Tuesday, April 21st.
City officials said they will be given to "eligible volunteer candidates," prioritizing city residents, utility customers, large-member households, and households with members who come in contact and interact with the public as part of their daily work or volunteering.
City Manager John Regan said the purpose of the project is to give public health officials "a real-time monitoring tool" that can detect any changes in body temperature so there can be a quick response.
If they qualify, Regan said city residents and utility customers will be the first to receive thermometers.
“Ideally, participants live in a larger household, more than four, and their employment or volunteering puts them in a higher level of exposure to larger numbers of people in the community,” Regan said. “These are not only our first responders, public safety officers and healthcare workers, but also school teachers, grocery store clerks, restaurant and hospitality workers, or any of the support staff within these professions.”
The project is expected to then expand to include other families and residents outside of the city limits, which Regan said is thanks to 'in-kind donations' that allowed for the purchase of 300 additional thermometers.
Anyone who calls inquiring about the project will speak directly to city staff. The caller will be asked six questions, including their name, address, phone and internet access.
The City is partnering with Kinsa, Inc. The data from the thermometer will be monitored through the Kinsa network smartphone application.
City officials said they will not convey any personal information from the temperature measurement, and that the address is used to identify the caller as a city resident, utility customer, or a non-city resident.
Callers may be asked additional questions. For example, whether the caller or a member of their household physically leaves the home for work and interacts with 10 or more people on any given workday. They will also be asked how many people live in their household and if they think a smart thermometer would be helpful.
The answers in the qualification process will be recorded and given a certain point value. The final cumulative score determines the caller’s eligibility for receiving a thermometer.
A city resident or utility customer who qualifies can either pick up the device at a drive-through window located at 50 Bridge Street or the city can make arrangements to personally deliver it to a home.
Anyone who qualifies who not a utility worker or a resident will be placed on a waitlist to be eligible for the next wave of distribution. In the meantime, city officials said they can purchase their own thermometer and register it themselves because any registered device is automatically included in the project network.
“It is our goal to distribute these 900 thermometers so that we can begin collecting data in what will be the densest real-time temperature network in the country,” Regan said, “but the number one priority of this program is to keep our community healthy!”
City officials urge people to direct any of their questions to their Communications Office at 904-825-1053 or via email to kinsa@citystaug.com.