Kendall Co. Hires Call Center To Help With COVID-19 Vaccine Query

KENDALL COUNTY, IL — Since the county health department has been overwhelmed trying to field calls from residents about the COVID-19 vaccine, the Kendall County Board during its Tuesday meeting voted to approve the hiring of a call center.

County board members approved a $10,000 contract with the call center with future spending to be determined by minutes worked answering phones. County Administrator Scott Koeppel told the board that there have been complaints where residents have demanded that their calls be answered, but "we're not equipped to do that at the health department."

"They're not used to having anywhere near this volume of phone calls," he said, referring to the number of calls per week that have increased exponentially.

The call center will help residents who have difficulty using the internet get their information to local health officials and help them get registered online through the health department’s portal. A new community resource specialist who starts this week with the health department will serve as liaison between the call center and residents.

"I think this is an opportunity if we can handle half the phone calls with the call center and get that off their shoulders, they can get to the people who need their help and help them register," Koeppel said.

Kendall County currently holds the highest vaccination rate of any Chicago collar county with 7.53 percent of residents fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data. The closest is DuPage County with 6.82 percent vaccinated.

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