What is the CARES Act?

In 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $175 billion in relief funds, including to hospitals and other healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Healthcare providers can use these funds to cover expenses attributed to COVID-19. This Provider Relief Fund (PRF) can be used for several different categories of expenses, including lost revenues and measures taken to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

Can you improve your video security system with CARES Act funding?

There are several different ways that healthcare providers can qualify for CARES Act funding. One category of expenses covered is equipment. Official documentation describes this as:

“Equipment: Expenses paid for the purchase of equipment used to prevent, prepare for, and/or respond to coronavirus during the reporting period, such as ventilators, updates to HVAC systems, etc.” – HHS.gov

If the video security solution you plan to implement will improve your coronavirus response, yes—you can use CARES Act funding to upgrade to a new surveillance system.

Improving healthcare safety with Rhombus during COVID-19 and beyond

Rhombus is the leader in cloud video surveillance and provides a reliable solution to help healthcare organizations manage their security easier and more effectively.

Rhombus’ video security solution qualifies for CARES Act funding as it has standard features that improve COVID-19 response and improves overall physical security management.

Here are some of the ways Rhombus helps healthcare organizations protect patients, employees, and visitors:

Mask & PPE Detection

Proper mask usage is one of the most important ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19. However, manual monitoring for healthcare staff can be labor-intensive and incorrect mask usage can slip through the cracks.

Rhombus Mask Detection automatically identifies if individuals are wearing face coverings at scale and sends real-time alerts when masks are not detected. This eliminates the burden placed on healthcare providers and enables hospitals to protect employees without any manual work.

Learn more about automatic mask and PPE detection: Safer Reopening with Smart Security Cameras: Introducing Rhombus Mask Detection

Rhombus automatically identifies a visitor removing his mask and flags the incident as 'Mask Missing'.

Improve Contact Tracing with Powerful Search

With contract tracing, time is of the essence to control and minimize potential spread. Rhombus features smart video search capabilities to help hospital staff quickly trace an affected person’s activity.

If you identify an individual who has contracted COVID-19, you can quickly filter video for all the moments the cameras captured this individual’s face to see exactly where they went and who they interacted with.

Securing Physical Spaces and Vaccine Supplies

Using video surveillance to respond to COVID-19 fits into a larger goal: comprehensive security in healthcare environments.

Rhombus is designed to give complete visibility into your physical space from one console that you can access anytime, anywhere, on any device. The system automatically monitors your facilities 24/7 and provides real-time video alerts, allowing you to respond to urgent situations much more quickly.

Additionally, with the Rhombus suite of connected IoT sensors, organizations receive actionable sensor data with corresponding video evidence to better protect COVID-19 vaccines.

• Asset Tags track the location and movement of vaccine trays/cases.
• Door Sensors can be applied to fridge or freezer doors to ensure they are properly closed or send alerts for unauthorized access.
• Environmental Sensors monitor the temperature inside refrigerators or freezers and sends proactive alerts if the temperature exceeds a specified range.

For more information on protecting vaccine supplies with Rhombus, read: Improving COVID-19 Response: Vaccine Storage and Security

Conclusion

Hospitals and healthcare providers continue to face many challenges in combating COVID-19. Modern video security helps lighten the load on administrators and creates safer, more secure spaces for patients, employees, and visitors. If your organization has received CARES Act funding, investing in a new video security solution not only enhances your response to COVID-19 but also improves your overall security for years to come.

See for yourself how Rhombus can improve security and maintain HIPAA compliance for your organization. Request a demo or free trial at sales@rhombussystems.com.