To help us track symptoms of our community members, the CHCC has switched from the use of T.I.M. (Text Illness Monitoring) to Sara Alert, which allows enrolled individuals to report their symptoms using their communication tool of choice (web, text, email, or phone call).

Like, the T.I.M. system, Sara Alert allows CNMI public health officials to enroll individuals at risk of developing a coronavirus infection so those individuals can report on any symptoms they're having. This provides CNMI health officials with real-time insights of the virus in our community, and allows surveillance staff to follow up with people reporting symptoms. Sara Alert offers multiple access methods including web, text, email, and phone calls. This system increases efficiency in tracking potential cases, leading to earlier containment of the virus and reduction of burden on our public health resources.

What is the difference between Sara Alert and the other text system, T.I.M.?
Sara Alert allows enrolled individuals to report their symptoms using their communication tool of choice (web, text, email, or phone call), whereas TIM focused solely on text messaging (SMS). TIM was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whereas Sara Alert was developed by a not-for-profit organization called MITRE, in collaboration with federal, state and local public health agencies. Sara Alert is available via the public domain, free of charge, to public health agencies.