The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for Fairfax County, a diverse Northern Virginia community of over one million residents. With more than 40% of the population speaking a language other than English and one of the state’s only independent health districts, the county was tasked with delivering critical services—testing, vaccinations, and public education—while managing complex public health operations.
EM Partners worked closely with the county’s emergency managers to navigate evolving FEMA guidance and secure funding through the Public Assistance program. Our team developed and submitted detailed reimbursement requests for a wide range of eligible expenses, including PPE, disinfection services, multilingual public messaging, pandemic-related security, force account labor for health workers and first responders, and a large-scale non-congregate sheltering operation utilizing entire hotels for exposed or infected individuals.
EM Partners provided expert consultation and hands-on technical support to compile, validate, and submit fully documented, closeout-ready claims. These efforts supported over $50 million in projected FEMA funding, helping Fairfax County recover costs while maintaining vital services for its residents throughout the pandemic.