Update: The final meeting of the NYC COVID-19 Rapid Response Coalition was held on August 5.  PHS is joining efforts with NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to align information sharing and data updates on COVID-19 and other relevant concerns facing New York City. Starting August 2022, all interested members will have the opportunity the join the DOHMH’s Public Health Corps’ Partner Forum, which meets every other week to address these concerns. 

If interested, please sign up here to receive the calendar invitation series directly from the DOHMH.

The NYC COVID-19 Rapid Response Coalition was formed by a small, cross-sector team of healthcare and technology leaders in New York City to protect the most medically vulnerable and underserved New Yorkers during COVID-19 at the height of the COVID-19 in NYC in March 2020.  The Coalition brought together more than 75 organizations operating pro bono to achieve a record of impact that made a measurable difference in the life of the city and its most at-risk and underserved populations through SMS outreach, food delivery, PPE, and donation of test kits to frontline community-based organizations. You can read more about the Coalition’s early work here.

In July 2020, the Coalition integrated its operations with Public Health Solutions’ Healthcare Community Partnerships efforts to expand its impact for the duration of the pandemic and beyond. 

The NYC Rapid Response Coalition focused on four main priority areas:  

  • Emergency food, testing, and other supply distribution  
  • Technology outreach, integration, and engagement  
  • Expansion of coordinated, accountable social service networks  
  • Capacity building to deliver clinical and social needs to vulnerable populations in the home  
  • In addition, as NYC prepares for COVID-19 immunization, the Rapid Response Coalition is committed to be a forum for information-sharing in support of an equitable distribution and administration of the vaccine in communities across NYC.  For more information or questions, please contact Zach Hennessey zhennessey@healthsolutions.org or Arielle Burlett aburlett@healthsolutions.org.