BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $7.3 million to the State of Rhode Island to reimburse the state health department for the costs of some of its efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $7,290,591 in FEMA Public Assistance grants will go to the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) for establishing and operating a temporary Case Investigation Center (CIC) and for purchasing technology used in tracking cases.
The department paid $4,822,248 in contracts to hire CIC staff including nurses, case investigators, epidemiologists, and consultant physicians; paid for a call center software platform, data analytics and cell phone service; and paid for the costs of operating the center from June 2020 through July 2021.
Case investigators would contact a person who had tested positive and provide the most up-to-date clinical guidance on testing, treatment, isolation and quarantine, as well as connect them with resources to help support them during isolation and quarantine.
A second $2,468,343 grant paid for contracting with the Salesforce software company and developing an app for tracking COVID outbreaks between August 2021 and March 2022.
RIDOH contracted to license and use the Salesforce platform for data collection, analysis, integration, reporting, and sharing to monitor and help slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state, as well as providing ways for the state to aggregate the data and report appropriate essential information to the public.
The department also contracted to develop a mobile application that could interface with the Salesforce platform and promote rapid case investigation by allowing individuals to easily report their recent whereabouts in the event of a positive diagnosis to aid in outbreak response, quarantine and isolation.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the State of Rhode Island with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
These grants brings the total awarded by FEMA to the State of Rhode Island to almost $519 million to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.