The Town of Brookhaven has entered into a $108,000 contract with a telehealth company for monitoring town employees’ health for COVID-related symptoms.

The town board unanimously agreed Dec. 3 to enter into a contract with Radish Health, Inc, a Manhattan based company that helps monitor employee health data using an app. Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said there will be an app that employees will have to check in with every day. If anyone is feeling sick, there will be opportunities for videos with doctors or to get tested. The company will also handle all contact tracing. 

The agreement is good for six months, and will be used with 900 town employees.

“Radish gave us the best deal and the best agreement in terms of the safety of our employees,” Romaine said during the Dec. 3 meeting. “We have to do all we can to contain his virus.”

Town officials again complained that while Suffolk County has received around $260 million in federal CARES Act funding, towns like Brookhaven haven’t received “a dime” for government operations. 

“The town is doing this to protect our employees … we still have not received dollar one,” Councilman Dan Panico (R-Manorville) said. “This is what the money was intended for.”

Romaine said the pandemic has continued to hurt town finances, though this move is important as “a number of our employees have been inflicted with this virus.”

Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) said despite those infections, “government needs to continue to operate.”