Posted on Mar 18, 2020
Albert DeWeese
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I am new here and am a civilian. I am trying to connect with EPLOs (Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers) helping FEMA prepare for the response to COVID-19. Can someone help me? I understand there are several FEMA regions and that there is a REPLO from Army North assigned to each FEMA region. I also understand there is a SEPLO assigned to each state. I am trying to reach these REPLOs and SEPLOs. I have an emergency oxygen device that I think will be a very useful asset for COVID-19 emergency response. I want to talk to active REPLOs or SEPLOs assigned to FEMA to describe the device and understand if will indeed be helpful. Please help me connect. Again I am new here and don't really know how this community works. I am also a civilian so please bear with me if I use incorrect terminology.
Posted in these groups: FEMA098d857 Coronavirus COVID19
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LTC Jason Mackay
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Edited >1 y ago
I believe you're coming it at it from the wrong angle.

If there is a requirement for your good or service, it would be on Federal Business Opportunities FedBizOpps on line as an RFP, RFQ. Now SAM.gov...just migrated. https://beta.sam.gov

If you are trying to sell it and FEMA doesn’t know about it, two routes. in disaster relief there are Emergency Support Functions where the lease coordinating Federal Agency goes to for support. Usually, generally, nearly always it is FEMA. There are a few where FEMA is not.

Under ESF3 USACE has primary agency contracting responsibility. https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Business-With-Us/Contracting/Emergency-Contracts-ACI/

Under ESF8 US Dept Health and Human Services has primary responsibility for public health and backing up the medical system. https://www.hhs.gov/grants/small-business-programs/index.html

Your seeking a contract relationship which EPLOs and REPLOs can’t do. The military rep (Defense Coordmating Officer DCO) in each region is to coordinate T10 response to state requested needs.

The President declared a national emergency, which is not the same as a federal disaster declaration. So FEMA is not responding with DHHS in heavy. And the federal agencies only go in at the request of a state and a federal disaster declaration. I'd start with HHS Small Business Office.
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Albert DeWeese
Albert DeWeese
>1 y
excellent thank you. I will try that route as well. my friend's father was a SEPLO over Georgia a several years ago and he seemed to think that FEMA would be interested in our technology. I will pursue both routes.
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SSG Infantryman
SSG (Join to see)
>1 y
Be aware that beta.sam is a massive downgrade from FBO, it has a terrible user interface and you will need to spend a lot of time adjusting filters and search parameters to find relevant and current solicitations.
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LTC Jason Mackay
LTC Jason Mackay
>1 y
Albert DeWeese - there may be interest but unless there is a contractual interest via an articulate RFP/RFQ and a funding stream, that will be unrealized.
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Albert DeWeese
Albert DeWeese
>1 y
understood. thanks again.
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CAPT Kevin B.
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I used to be a FEMA certified Operations Center Manager. Additionally, my Navy Regional Ops Center supported Fukushima and Haiti Earthquake. Bottom line, if you are not already on a Basic Ordering Agreement for essential and vetted supplies, you are just one of thousands of the "noise" throwing sand into the gears at the wrong spot. Showing up after the event starts isn't helpful to the people providing services. Military Liaison job is to coordinate the provision of existing military support. They don't do R&D, test marketing, product evaluations, or clearinghouse activities for the thousands of "noises" out there. Doing any of that means they aren't doing their job and are becoming part of the problem. That would get me mowing some butt lawn if I caught one of my NEPLOs doing that. You're trying to insert yourself into the function/process at the wrong spot. FEMA isn't a medical device evaluation organization either. Health and Human Services would be a closer fit, but I don't know if you'd be considered noise there as well. You'll have to be a bit creative if your product is actually viable and helpful. The States have implemented programs where small business can provide information on how the pandemic is affecting them. Telling the state you have something but don't know where to go is one option. Remember, you have to convince someone who isn't necessarily the sharp knife in the drawer you're worth spending time over. BTW, say you have something like a cell phone sized device that increases O2 percentage. It isn't viable for treatment as it falls into the make them comfortable and watch them die protocol. My wife is a retired RT that spent over 40 years in the pulmonology support game. It isn't about O2 percentage. It's about O2 getting into the lungs and being absorbed. COVID is frequently resulting in plug pneumonia which has to be mechanically removed by doing a bronchoscopy under fluoroscopy. Ventilators have their role, but are just one piece of the treatment solution. People are media hyped on beds and 100,000 ventilators. The talking heads are ignoring everything else like ~13,000 pulmonologists, numbers of certified support RTs, etc. They are already very busy taking care of flu, COPD, you name it. 80% of the ventilators are doing this normal stuff before COVID hit. A limiter may be the scopes which tend to be finicky and break with heavy use. We tend to confuse things as being equal to capability. Not true. Things that can be applied at the right time and place with adequate staff and support is capability that will actually result in something. Lots of chain links that can break.
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Albert DeWeese
Albert DeWeese
>1 y
this is brilliant. you are 100% correct. I will rethink. (thanks also to LTC Jason Mackay )
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CAPT Kevin B.
CAPT Kevin B.
>1 y
I talked to my wife more about the bronc scopes, etc. She used to be able to clean and prep for the next one in an hour. "Somewhere" an infection control type and lawyer decided they have to go to Central Supply to be cleaned. The gorillas there typically took a day and frequently tossed vs. placed them in the same tray the colonoscopy scope was in and the breakage rate went through the roof. Go figure. So of the 5 scopes they had, it usually meant 3-4 procedures a day vs. 3 pulmonologists able to do 24-30 with the supporting staff. If this "mentality" is widespread, then you see that "policy" is of course the major limiter as it frequently is.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
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Edited >1 y ago
DHS, FEMA, States, Army North, NORTHCOM, HHS, Surgeon General, CDC.
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