Emergency Management Agency PPE bids and procedures (Georgia Emergency Management Agency)

Good Morning,

On 4/8/2020, the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) received your Open Records Request for:

“The current procedure for procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) on behalf of agencies and entities within the jurisdiction of this office. If this office manages PPE requests for county, local, or private entities, please also provide any guiding material for soliciting, receiving, organizing, and fulfilling those requests.

Any bids placed by this agency for the acquisition of PPE for this office or on behalf of any entity within the jurisdiction of this agency.

Any available spreadsheet or aggregate information related to bids for PPE. Please provide all available segregable data, including but not limited to the source, the quantity, and the success of the bid.”
GEMA/HS is currently conducting a search for any and all records related to this request regarding its employees. Please expect to hear from us directly regarding our progress in locating the requested information. We anticipate providing this information to you as expeditiously as we can.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us again.
Best regards,

GEMA/HS Open Records Requests
openrecords@gema.ga.gov<mailto:openrecords@gema.ga.gov>
1-800-TRY-GEMA

Good Morning,

GEMA/HS did a thorough search for records related to your request. All responsive documents are attached. Personal contact information was redacted pursuant to O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 (20)(a). There will be no charge for the work accomplished to date.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us again.
Best regards,

GEMA/HS Open Records Requests
openrecords@gema.ga.gov<mailto:openrecords@gema.ga.gov>
1-800-TRY-GEMA

Ms. Lipton,

GEMA/HS will conduct a search for:

“Thanks, again, for all of your help with this request. I'm wondering if there is an updated version of this information that you could provide to me. I greatly appreciate the work you do.

‘The current procedure for procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) on behalf of agencies and entities within the jurisdiction of this office. If this office manages PPE requests for county, local, or private entities, please also provide any guiding material for soliciting, receiving, organizing, and fulfilling those requests.

Any bids placed by this agency for the acquisition of PPE for this office or on behalf of any entity within the jurisdiction of this agency.

Any available spreadsheet or aggregate information related to bids for PPE. Please provide all available segregable data, including but not limited to the source, the quantity, and the success of the bid.’”

Due to the voluminous nature of requests, the current activation level of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, and the on-going Public Health Emergency all requests have lead times beyond standard production and at least one pending request has a lead time of two weeks.

Please expect to hear from us directly regarding our progress. Again, our goal is to provide this information to you as expeditiously as we can.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us again.
Best regards,
GEMA/HS Open Records Requests
openrecords@gema.ga.gov<mailto:openrecords@gema.ga.gov>
1-800-TRY-GEMA

Hello Ms. Lipton,

GEMA/HS did a search for “an updated version” of previously supplied information.

Responsive documents are attached hereto, except for personal contact information redacted pursuant to O.C.G.A. 50-18-72 (20)(A).

There will be no charge for the work accomplished to date specific to this request.

Have a great weekend.
Best regards,

GEMA/HS Open Records Requests
openrecords@gema.ga.gov<mailto:openrecords@gema.ga.gov>
1-800-TRY-GEMA

Attached is the updated version of the spreadsheet

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: GEMA/HS External Affairs <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
Date: Mon, May 18, 2020 at 3:44 PM
Subject: RE: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition
To: Beryl Lipton <beryl@muckrock.com>

Beryl,

Please find the attached spreadsheet which should help address some of your
specific questions. Some of the information is redundant to the purchase
order spreadsheet I previously provided, but the additional sheets show
calendar projections and delivery schedules for PPE as well as fulfilled
orders. Please let me know if you have any other questions. This
spreadsheet is current as of noon today.

*Lisa Rodriguez-Presley*

External Affairs Supervisor

*Georgia Emergency Management *

*& Homeland Security Agency*

(404) 635-7026 | Office

(470) 583-6288 | iPhone

Lisa.rodriguez-presley@gema.ga.gov

[image: cid:image002.png@01D62D2A.E07BE2A0]

*From:* Beryl Lipton <beryl@muckrock.com>
*Sent:* Friday, May 15, 2020 2:34 PM
*To:* GEMA/HS External Affairs <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
*Subject:* Re: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition

Hello,

Thank you so much for this additional clarification. I really appreciate
your help. I have a couple last points that maybe you could quickly clear
up. I've highlighted them with arrows below.

This is the most recent spreadsheet you sent to me:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ngNggUlB4325PEole5f0O8FDfHy4v7B1OBIxG0St3c/edit?usp=sharing
<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fspreadsheets%2Fd%2F11ngNggUlB4325PEole5f0O8FDfHy4v7B1OBIxG0St3c%2Fedit%3Fusp%3Dsharing&data=02%7C01%7C%7C728eb8d8796243fc223808d7f8fe986b%7Ccb7bd255afe241feacc13254484e732f%7C0%7C0%7C637251644675128049&sdata=OZGnoCPEIoAW%2B7HvKR0k8VktDu1yB2yb7vB0idHDTP0%3D&reserved=0>

I added columns to try to better differentiate what was delivered or
partially delivered based on the notes. From the sheet it's not clear when
materials actually arrived. Earlier this week, Governor Kemp said he was
talking with Director Bryson and that the state was in a good place with
PPE. I reached out to the Governor's office, and they suggested I reach out
to you for the specific numbers and what it means to be in "good shape"
right now.

Could you confirm the following points?

• Most state orders have not been filled. Please see the attached
spreadsheet which should give you a better idea of what has been filled and
what is still pending.

• The most recent order was filled in mid-April. [From the spreadsheet, it
looks like there hasn't been anything received through procurement since an
April 18 delivery of 1 million masks and possibly some Tyvek suits the next
week. Is that accurate?]

• Most orders don't have a definite expected delivery. Correct

• The current stockpile is far from the state's one-month reserve goal. The
timeline for achieving that goal is how many months? We do not have a
timeline as of right now.

• There are not available numbers or estimates for PPE in hand, how project
plans are being created, or the timeline for creation of that stockpile.

• Most supplies that have been distributed by GEMA/DPH have be acquired
through private donations like that from Apple and Cisco
<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpatch.com%2Fgeorgia%2Falpharetta%2Fcisco-donates-330-000-n-95-masks-georgia-coronavirus&data=02%7C01%7C%7C728eb8d8796243fc223808d7f8fe986b%7Ccb7bd255afe241feacc13254484e732f%7C0%7C0%7C637251644675128049&sdata=xnX04uDIpPsxNm0nUgzl79VWj%2BLycxp%2FEPjnsumCows%3D&reserved=0>
.

I'll try to follow up with a call soon. I appreciate that a lot is unknown
right now and that your team is working hard to acquire the supplies that
it can given the global condition. However, I would like to be able to
accurately collect and convey a few more details about what that means for
where things currently stand and how plans for the next few months will be
executed.

Thanks so much for your help.

All the best,

Beryl

On Thu, May 14, 2020 at 4:36 PM GEMA/HS External Affairs <
ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov> wrote:

Beryl,

Answers to your questions are in red below.

*The External Affairs Team*

*Georgia Emergency Management*

*& Homeland Security Agency*

externalaffairs@gema.ga.gov

[image: cid:image001.png@01D62D24.1C8BE0D0]

Hello,

Thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate all of the work your
office is doing and your willingness to provide insight into how it's
unfolding. As you follow up with your logistical team about some of my
questions, I just wanted to send a note to clarify my understanding and my
inquiry.

First, thank you so much for sending the most recent purchase orders. From
that sheet, it continues to look like GEMA has had filled only a few of its
orders for millions of masks — 100,000 face shields (from HLP Klearfold)
and (from Fastenall) 5000 of 100,000 N95 masks — and there seems to be no
clear lead time on the rest of the orders, some of which were placed in
March. My understanding is that there have been attempted PPE acquisitions
by GEMA totaling $100 million-plus and that, though payment isn't being
made on those orders until they're received, it is also unclear when that
arrival date will be for many orders.

It looks like PPE orders are in a queue but that for the near term,
reliance will be on donated supplies and use of decontamination systems. Is
there a more accurate characterization of how things are playing out or
being planned? Governor Kemp said yesterday he felt good about the state's
position on all PPE except for surgical gowns right now, but it's unclear
what that position is exactly. The most recent executive orders have
expanded the expected use of PPE to critical infrastructure, body art
parlors, summer camps, etc. and counties are planning to make their own
stockpiles, which would also seem to affect the demands on the market and
on GEMA. Georgia is receiving orders and donations, and has leveraged our
relationships with corporations to secure needed PPE. While these
additional demands are expected to impact availability of PPE in the
future, it will not affect existing orders which are projected 90 days out.
Another consideration is the type of PPE required/recommended for many
businesses and critical infrastructure is not the same type needed by
medical workers. For most businesses, cloth face coverings are adequate for
PPE purposes combined with gloves and sanitizing of facilities.

More specifically, I'd like to know any numbers/details your logistical
team has on these questions:

• How much PPE is being acquired or is in hand, and how much of that supply
is coming from donations versus the purchasing process? Donations are
coming from multiple organizations and we are not including any potential
donations in our calculations for ordering PPE. Georgia is utilizing
formulas to calculate the “burn rate” of PPE and is projecting 7, 14 and 31
days out for how much PPE will be needed in acute care hospitals, skilled
nursing facilities, dialysis centers, EMS, county jails, correctional
facilities and non-healthcare workers (law enforcement)

• What is known about the timeline for new supplies of PPE - what will be
received and when? We do not have any hard timelines for delivery of PPE.
Logistics personnel contact vendors to obtain updates on expected shipping
dates and make adjustments to our projections accordingly. Orders that have
been pending for extended periods are being reevaluated and may be
cancelled. We have already begun this reevaluation process.

• What estimates or goals are being used to anticipate the required
warehouse space for storing PPE? (For example, Fulton County has proposed
for itself an ongoing 30-day supply of PPE to be maintained for multiple
years.) GEMA/HS and DPH both have existing warehouse space to accommodate
supplies until they are distributed. The goal is for GEMA/HS to acquire
enough PPE to maintain a 31 day supply as a strategic reserve, in addition
to the PPE required for daily operations.

Thank you so much for your time, and I appreciate all of your help to
clarify what is certainly an ever-evolving situation.

All the best,

Beryl

--

--

Beryl Lipton

Projects Editor, MuckRock

Phone: 617-500-7123
--

--

Beryl Lipton

Projects Editor, MuckRock

Phone: 617-500-7123

--
--
Beryl Lipton
Projects Editor, MuckRock
Phone: 617-500-7123

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Lisa Rodriguez-Presley <lisa.rodriguez-presley@gema.ga.gov>
Date: Tue, May 19, 2020 at 3:57 PM
Subject: FW: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition
To: Beryl Lipton <beryl@muckrock.com>

*From:* Lisa Rodriguez-Presley <lisa.rodriguez-presley@gema.ga.gov>
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 19, 2020 3:27 PM
*To:* GEMA/HS External Affairs <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
*Subject:* RE: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition

Beryl,

Attached is the updated copy of the On Hand Inventory spreadsheet.

*Lisa Rodriguez-Presley*

External Affairs Supervisor

*Georgia Emergency Management *

*& Homeland Security Agency*

(404) 635-7026 | Office

(470) 583-6288 | iPhone

Lisa.rodriguez-presley@gema.ga.gov

*From:* GEMA/HS External Affairs <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 19, 2020 12:59 PM
*To:* Lisa Rodriguez-Presley <lisa.rodriguez-presley@gema.ga.gov>
*Subject:* FW: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition

*From:* Beryl Lipton <beryl@muckrock.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 19, 2020 12:03 PM
*To:* GEMA/HS External Affairs <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
*Subject:* Fwd: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: *GEMA/HS External Affairs* <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
Date: Mon, May 18, 2020 at 3:44 PM
Subject: RE: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition
To: Beryl Lipton <beryl@muckrock.com>

Beryl,

Please find the attached spreadsheet which should help address some of your
specific questions. Some of the information is redundant to the purchase
order spreadsheet I previously provided, but the additional sheets show
calendar projections and delivery schedules for PPE as well as fulfilled
orders. Please let me know if you have any other questions. This
spreadsheet is current as of noon today.

*Lisa Rodriguez-Presley*

External Affairs Supervisor

*Georgia Emergency Management *

*& Homeland Security Agency*

(404) 635-7026 | Office

(470) 583-6288 | iPhone

Lisa.rodriguez-presley@gema.ga.gov

[image: cid:image002.png@01D62D2A.E07BE2A0]

*From:* Beryl Lipton <beryl@muckrock.com>
*Sent:* Friday, May 15, 2020 2:34 PM
*To:* GEMA/HS External Affairs <ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov>
*Subject:* Re: Press inquiry: MuckRock regarding PPE acquisition

Hello,

Thank you so much for this additional clarification. I really appreciate
your help. I have a couple last points that maybe you could quickly clear
up. I've highlighted them with arrows below.

This is the most recent spreadsheet you sent to me:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11ngNggUlB4325PEole5f0O8FDfHy4v7B1OBIxG0St3c/edit?usp=sharing
<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.google.com%2Fspreadsheets%2Fd%2F11ngNggUlB4325PEole5f0O8FDfHy4v7B1OBIxG0St3c%2Fedit%3Fusp%3Dsharing&data=02%7C01%7C%7C88e0e8a819e44c423e1908d7fc2e9789%7Ccb7bd255afe241feacc13254484e732f%7C0%7C0%7C637255149505923476&sdata=qS0NHtZZeDFuwuWHLiGCuE2czdoPF4ff8hYQE4ABibE%3D&reserved=0>

I added columns to try to better differentiate what was delivered or
partially delivered based on the notes. From the sheet it's not clear when
materials actually arrived. Earlier this week, Governor Kemp said he was
talking with Director Bryson and that the state was in a good place with
PPE. I reached out to the Governor's office, and they suggested I reach out
to you for the specific numbers and what it means to be in "good shape"
right now.

Could you confirm the following points?

• Most state orders have not been filled. Please see the attached
spreadsheet which should give you a better idea of what has been filled and
what is still pending.

• The most recent order was filled in mid-April. [From the spreadsheet, it
looks like there hasn't been anything received through procurement since an
April 18 delivery of 1 million masks and possibly some Tyvek suits the next
week. Is that accurate?]

• Most orders don't have a definite expected delivery. Correct

• The current stockpile is far from the state's one-month reserve goal. The
timeline for achieving that goal is how many months? We do not have a
timeline as of right now.

• There are not available numbers or estimates for PPE in hand, how project
plans are being created, or the timeline for creation of that stockpile.

• Most supplies that have been distributed by GEMA/DPH have be acquired
through private donations like that from Apple and Cisco
<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpatch.com%2Fgeorgia%2Falpharetta%2Fcisco-donates-330-000-n-95-masks-georgia-coronavirus&data=02%7C01%7C%7C88e0e8a819e44c423e1908d7fc2e9789%7Ccb7bd255afe241feacc13254484e732f%7C0%7C0%7C637255149505928466&sdata=mEuWbhTm53ylpL%2B%2BoD2%2BcTMKP%2Bx9veNuhaD7z0F0FtA%3D&reserved=0>
.

I'll try to follow up with a call soon. I appreciate that a lot is unknown
right now and that your team is working hard to acquire the supplies that
it can given the global condition. However, I would like to be able to
accurately collect and convey a few more details about what that means for
where things currently stand and how plans for the next few months will be
executed.

Thanks so much for your help.

All the best,

Beryl

On Thu, May 14, 2020 at 4:36 PM GEMA/HS External Affairs <
ExternalAffairs@gema.ga.gov> wrote:

Beryl,

Answers to your questions are in red below.

*The External Affairs Team*

*Georgia Emergency Management*

*& Homeland Security Agency*

externalaffairs@gema.ga.gov

[image: cid:image001.png@01D62D24.1C8BE0D0]

Hello,

Thank you so much for your time today. I appreciate all of the work your
office is doing and your willingness to provide insight into how it's
unfolding. As you follow up with your logistical team about some of my
questions, I just wanted to send a note to clarify my understanding and my
inquiry.

First, thank you so much for sending the most recent purchase orders. From
that sheet, it continues to look like GEMA has had filled only a few of its
orders for millions of masks — 100,000 face shields (from HLP Klearfold)
and (from Fastenall) 5000 of 100,000 N95 masks — and there seems to be no
clear lead time on the rest of the orders, some of which were placed in
March. My understanding is that there have been attempted PPE acquisitions
by GEMA totaling $100 million-plus and that, though payment isn't being
made on those orders until they're received, it is also unclear when that
arrival date will be for many orders.

It looks like PPE orders are in a queue but that for the near term,
reliance will be on donated supplies and use of decontamination systems. Is
there a more accurate characterization of how things are playing out or
being planned? Governor Kemp said yesterday he felt good about the state's
position on all PPE except for surgical gowns right now, but it's unclear
what that position is exactly. The most recent executive orders have
expanded the expected use of PPE to critical infrastructure, body art
parlors, summer camps, etc. and counties are planning to make their own
stockpiles, which would also seem to affect the demands on the market and
on GEMA. Georgia is receiving orders and donations, and has leveraged our
relationships with corporations to secure needed PPE. While these
additional demands are expected to impact availability of PPE in the
future, it will not affect existing orders which are projected 90 days out.
Another consideration is the type of PPE required/recommended for many
businesses and critical infrastructure is not the same type needed by
medical workers. For most businesses, cloth face coverings are adequate for
PPE purposes combined with gloves and sanitizing of facilities.

More specifically, I'd like to know any numbers/details your logistical
team has on these questions:

• How much PPE is being acquired or is in hand, and how much of that supply
is coming from donations versus the purchasing process? Donations are
coming from multiple organizations and we are not including any potential
donations in our calculations for ordering PPE. Georgia is utilizing
formulas to calculate the “burn rate” of PPE and is projecting 7, 14 and 31
days out for how much PPE will be needed in acute care hospitals, skilled
nursing facilities, dialysis centers, EMS, county jails, correctional
facilities and non-healthcare workers (law enforcement)

• What is known about the timeline for new supplies of PPE - what will be
received and when? We do not have any hard timelines for delivery of PPE.
Logistics personnel contact vendors to obtain updates on expected shipping
dates and make adjustments to our projections accordingly. Orders that have
been pending for extended periods are being reevaluated and may be
cancelled. We have already begun this reevaluation process.

• What estimates or goals are being used to anticipate the required
warehouse space for storing PPE? (For example, Fulton County has proposed
for itself an ongoing 30-day supply of PPE to be maintained for multiple
years.) GEMA/HS and DPH both have existing warehouse space to accommodate
supplies until they are distributed. The goal is for GEMA/HS to acquire
enough PPE to maintain a 31 day supply as a strategic reserve, in addition
to the PPE required for daily operations.

Thank you so much for your time, and I appreciate all of your help to
clarify what is certainly an ever-evolving situation.

All the best,

Beryl

--

--

Beryl Lipton

Projects Editor, MuckRock

Phone: 617-500-7123

--

--

Beryl Lipton

Projects Editor, MuckRock

Phone: 617-500-7123
--

--

Beryl Lipton

Projects Editor, MuckRock

Phone: 617-500-7123

--
--
Beryl Lipton
Projects Editor, MuckRock
Phone: 617-500-7123