(Greenfield, MA) — Greenfield, Montague, Deerfield, and Sunderland are sharing a grant from the Department of Public Health Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences to increase local nursing and epidemiological support for COVID-19 tracing and case investigation.
“We are excited that DPH was responsive to our collaborative request for additional capacity. It will enable more rigorous and complete contact tracing, and provide additional expertise as we work to identify and monitor the most relevant indicators of COVID-19’s prevalence and risk and respond to that evolving risk,” said Montague Town Administrator, Steve Ellis.
The grant will be split into two years at $125,000 a year, and the City of Greenfield’s Health Department will allocate the money to the participating communities.
Jennifer Hoffman, MPH, the Health Director for the City of Greenfield, said “I am very proud of the grant award and I feel this is finally a way for all of us to communicate and share information without limitations and delays that might have been present earlier on in the pandemic. Although we have been collaborating with one another throughout the pandemic, now, we will be stronger and united in educating our communities as well as transmitting information more quickly to one another”.