The Health Education and Training (HEAT) Corps: A Medical–Community Collaboration Response during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

With the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, many elements of society were faced with attempting to assimilate public health recommendations for infectious control. Vital social organizations had to balance delivering their social services while attempting to stay up to date with COVID-19 information and comply with evolving regulations. In the realm of schools and school systems, guidance on how to best adapt to COVID-19 was often limited. School officials and staff had to assist with multiple public health crises as a consequence of the pandemic, from the pandemic’s transmission prevention strategies (e.g., face masks and physical distancing) to the recognition that students would have personal tragedies related to COVID-19. In this review, we highlight the process and feasibility of implementing an international COVID-19 school-based initiative over two years of the pandemic, the Health Education and Training (HEAT) Corps program.