MEDIA ADVISORY 

SEAT PLEASANT, MD ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH AMAZON, SPRINT, EAGLEFORCE, AND FREEDMAN’S HEALTH TO LAUNCH NATIONAL TELEHEALTH PROGRAM TO ADDRESS COVID-19

Seat Pleasant, MD, The World’s First Authentic Small Smart City, announces over $200 million plan to be the first in the nation to mobilize and facilitate telemedical and behavioral management of high-risk older adults vulnerable to COVID-19.

March 21, 2020 (Seat Pleasant, MD) —

The City of Seat Pleasant: A Smart City of Excellence, located on the Maryland border of Washington, DC, is proud to announce the City has been selected by Amazon, Sprint, EagleForce, and Freedman’s Health to launch their nationwide disease surveillance and chronic disease management Telehealth system. The system will be provided to all Seniors and persons at greatest risk for COVID-19, which is especially critical as Seat Pleasant’s senior population accounts for 20% of the City population. To respond to the needs of this population and the greater community, the model will deploy an internet-enabled monitoring device and temperature screening tool that will not only monitor for COVID-19 symptoms but also track and monitor existing chronic diseases. In order to limit the exposure to the overburdened health system, the EagleForce platform is fully integrated with a Telehealth physician group that specializes in chronic disease management and geriatric care of older adults.

Mayor Eugene W. Grant will hold a press conference on Sunday, March 22 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm to introduce the City’s parternship with Amazon, Sprint, and Eagleforce to harness technology to address the COVID-19 global pandemic.

The technological leaders at Amazon, Sprint, EagleForce, and Freedman’s Health have committed over $200 million to support this first-in-the nation program, including $195 million dedicated to providing

tablets, medical devices, and associated software for those in need in Seat Pleasant. Additionally, to bridge the digital divide—each tablet will be equipped for free internet connectivity for a year.

Seat Pleasant’s existing Smart City system and technological hub made the City a natural choice to launch this cutting-edge, citizen-centric solution to ensure care is being providing to those at greater risk for COVID-19. The EagleForce System will directly interface with the Seat Pleasant Smart City Hub to support data exchange and coordination of city resources to meet the needs of Seat Pleasant residents. The vast capacity of the EagleForce Platform will be available to expand to serve the needs of older adults beyond Seat Pleasant and throughout Prince George’s County and the entire State of Maryland by providing a robust disease monitoring and Telehealth delivery model to address high-risk seniors and provide the necessary technology tools for low-income persons that do not have internet or technology hardware access.

As a community with a high proportion of low income and vulnerable people, who in addition to being disproportionately affected by health inequalities in addition to the digital divide, Seat Pleasant is excited to announce this partnership that seeks to address all of these issues.

Media is encouraged to attend to learn more about the City’s plan to keep citizens safe and continue operations in a small city, a system other small municipalities worldwide could adopt in the fight against the global pandemic.

Hosted By:

The City of Seat Pleasant, Maryland

What: Launch of First-in-the Nation Telehealth Partnership with Amazon, Sprint, and EagleForce COVID-19 Response Plan

Who:

● Eugene W. Grant, Mayor, Seat Pleasant, MD

● Dr. Dawne M. Carroll, MD Health Officer, Seat Pleasant, MD

● Sharron Lipford, Director of Public Engagement, Seat Pleasant, MD

● Timothy P. McNeil, RN, MPH Clinical Operations Director, Freedman’s Health

● Dr. Paul Rhodes, MD, Medical Director, Freedman’s Health

● Dr. Cynthia Macri, MD Chief Medical Officer, EagleForce

● Dr. Dan Morhaim, MD Emergency Room Physician/Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

● Dr. Angela Wahkweya, MD Former Medical Director for Prince George’s County Schools and Director, Clinical Adherence and Population Health

● Amazon Executives

● Sprint Executives

● Mohamed Abdelhameid, Director of Connected Government Systems, Seat Pleasant, MD

Where: 311 68th Place (City Hall)

Seat Pleasant, Maryland 20743

When: Sunday, March 22

1:00PM to 2:00PM

Social Media: #SmallSmartCity #COVID19Response #SeatPleasant

Seat Pleasant, MD is consistently recognized for its work to digitally transform the government to promote safety, resilience, efficient service delivery, and effective civic engagement. The city’s proactive response to COVID-19, including appointing a board-certified Health Officer, to COVID-19 will supplement federal, state, and county response plans to protect the health and safety of its residents.

To attend the event, request interviews, or for additional media inquiries, please contact Rachel Kubi via email at Rachel.Kubi@seatpleasantmd.gov or via phone at (240) 468-3912.