Residents can call 855-843-7620

Pawtucket/Central Falls – The BEAT COVID-19 Initiative in Pawtucket and Central Falls has assisted more than 2700 residents with limited access to health care.  The BEAT COVID-19 hotline operates in four languages and has focused on hard to reach communities since the call line first opened on May 1st.

The BEAT COVID-19 call line received and made more than 2700 calls and tested roughly 750 individuals.

• Less than 10% of residents who asked for assistance reported a household income of $25,000 or more;
• Only about a 22% of individuals stated that they were USA citizens; and
• Only about 16% of callers answered that they were born in the United States.

Answering questions other than first name and phone number are optional as many residents from both communities feel uncomfortable providing more detailed information. The purpose of the initiative was providing access to care and support, not information gathering.

“By listening carefully to all our communities and doing our best to speak the languages our communities speak, BEAT COVID-19 has been amazingly successful in reducing the number of new cases of Covid -19 in Pawtucket and Central Falls, but reducing new cases isn't enough,” said Dr. Michael Fine, Chief Health Strategist for Pawtucket and Central Falls. “We intend to find any Covid-19 still hiding in our neighborhoods, and will keep reaching out in new and different ways until everyone from the two cities is safe.”

“The success of this initiative can be seen in the numbers as the Cities continue to work with all of our partners such as Collette to bring awareness to the coronavirus, access to testing, and assistance,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “We know that there is much more work to do and we thank the dozens of local organizations who have stepped up to help us. The BEAT COVID-19 initiative is a true community effort, and we are excited to continue working with the State and Health Equity Zone on their official commitment to the two communities.”

“The BEAT COVID-19 initiative is critical to reach every resident of our cities,” said Mayor James A. Diossa. “We are beyond thankful for our community partners who have contributed weeks of support and staff-time to this project and, although we know there is a lot of work still to be done, are proud of the hundreds of residents we've been able to help. We look forward to working alongside the Department of Health to continue moving the initiative forward.”

The BEAT COVID-19 initiative is a one-of-a-kind grassroots system to give people in both Pawtucket and Central Falls – who otherwise might not feel comfortable getting tested or have access to a primary care doctor – access to information about how to be safe while sick and protect their family and community, testing, and resources to overcome hardships associated with the coronavirus pandemic

Any residents who experiences loss of taste and/or smell, fever, a bad cough, or other symptoms are urged to call 855-843-7620 as soon as those symptoms begin.  People who are exposed to someone with COVID-219, work in a high risk occupation, or live in a neighborhood that has had many people infected should call 855-843-7620 today to schedule an appointment for a free coronavirus test.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2020
Contact: Wil Arboleda
401-728-0500 ext. 358