Oakton College launching contract tracing certificate program

Oakton Community College is launching a Public Health Contact Tracer Certificate program to quickly prepare students to monitor the contacts of people infected with COVID-19 and notify them of their exposure.

Courses start Oct. 20. Oakton is the first community college in Illinois to offer a credit-based program in this field.

The 13-credit hour certificate program prepares students to identify, interview and provide instructions to individuals impacted by COVID-19. It also will offer training to link individuals with symptoms to community resources for testing and care.

All courses in the program can be completed online.

Public health departments nationwide, according to a recent NPR state survey and tracking effort, now employ an estimated 37,000 contact tracers. However, researchers estimate a minimum of 100,000 additional contact tracers are needed.

New students can complete the general admission application to begin the enrollment process. For more information about the Public Health Contact Tracer Certificate, contact healthcontacttracer@oakton.edu or call (847) 376-7616.