The saying goes: There are strength in numbers. And as measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic require a collective effort to protect the health of others, that seems to never have been truer.
As the pandemic reached the North Texas region, Dallas quickly became the hotspot for the virus in the Metroplex. Calls for supplies and solutions to the quickly developing and changing crisis are on the rise from both leaders and residents. And having a background at the intersection of innovation and health care, local innovator Hubert Zajicek saw an opportunity to help out.
“We haven’t had a situation like this in health care... where such quickness is required,” Zajicek said.
In response, the CEO and founders of health care focused startup accelerator and incubator Health Wildcatters created the Health Hacking Crisis Network, a community of innovators with backgrounds in tech, medicine, engineering and other specialized skills centered around quickly responding to crises cropping up in DFW due to the pandemic.
What started as a simple Facebook group and a call to action, with his deep ties to the local startup and health care scenes, Zajicek said the network has grown to nearly 400 members. And while the group is focused on finding local responses to local problems, members of the community span multiple continents. The network is still looking for members interested in joining.
“The intent was to get as many people with relevant backgrounds together; it’s not something you just join and observe, you’re being asked to volunteer whatever talent you have,” Zajicek said. “The moniker that goes with all this is let’s assemble a rapid reaction for these people who opted in to address any emerging need in the health care space where we see that it is not fulfilled.”
Zajicek said he sees the Health Hacking Crisis Network as almost an extension of his work at Health Wildcatters, where the organization hosts multiple hackathons throughout the year to work on unaddressed needs in the health care ecosystem.
Already, the network is connecting groups throughout the community. When NTX Inno spoke with Zajicek, he was preparing to pick up supplies to help a group in Plano working to make masks. Beyond being just a resource tool, the group uses its knowledge to go further. Zajicek said they were working to give the Plano group the best medical practices and supplies to construct the masks. He added the network does have some funding that it can use to help or order supplies.
"We haven’t had a situation like this in health care."
Overall, the Health Crisis Hacking Network is working on about 10 to 12 major projects. Individual Slack channels are set up for different groups of people with certain skill sets to coordinate on different projects, while a group of “inner circle” people who receive requests for support host daily briefings on how to best handle and coordinate them.
“We need a lot of smart people getting together and finding an answer,” Zajicek said. “This is about people saying, ‘Here are my gifts, my talent... and I’m willing to give this to this group, no matter what is needed.’”
The Health Hacking Crisis Network is part of a trend in North Texas and across the country of entrepreneurs, innovators and startups using their talents and technology to help solve problems and support community members during the pandemic. Last month, NTX Inno tracked more than 18 local startups offering services and technology to help out in ways ranging from telehealth and case management software for health care providers to hand sanitizer production and part-time job placement.
Currently, the network is focused on the current crisis, which Zajicek said is likely to get worse before things settle into an uncertain “new normal,” and he sees the groups responses and resources adapting to the changes. He said he is unsure if it will disband after the pandemic is over. However, it is planning on launching a website in the near future, so that other residents from the community can contribute and donate.
“I would imagine this is going to be one of those 9/11 moments, and we’ll always live with this,” Zajicek said.
