Dear Sarah,
First of all let me express my cordial thanks for the CDC's decision supporting the NCDC with enhancing the capacity to fight the COVID-19 and your personal efforts and engagement
are of a high importance and crucial as always.
I am pleased to hear that the Regional Hub establishment in Georgia is moving forward and very much look forward to meeting you and Regional representaitves here in Tbilisi
after the slow down of the pandemic. Moreover, I am happy to hear that the Regional Director was selected and hope to meet with him soon when possible.
This is a great honor for the NCDC as well as for the whole country to have the permanent representation of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The co-residing
and working, I am sure, will give flexibility to have more successful outcomes within the frame of mutual collaboration. In addition, I would confirm, that the office space for the pointed number of employees (16) is acceptable and can offer the same space
which had been initially projected for the CDC and You personally had an opportunity to look through it. We will be able to provide relevant working environment for all staff, allocating at least couples of employees or more in one room space according to
the specificity of their working scope, also provide 2 separate rooms for the Regional and Country Directors. You will be able to use a big office space for meetings as well as hosting TDYs and to share the big trainig room located on the same floor for classroom
purposes and / or use any of the conference rooms at the NCDC builiding.
I think, on the initial stage this will look fine but hope to expand further physically in space through the joint resources.
We are ready to cooperate with you and Embassy's staff on details (moving in and timelines).
Thanks again for all your great collaboration and see you soon in Tbilisi.
With kind regards,
Amiran
Amiran Gamkrelidze, MD, PhD, Professor
National Center for Disease Control and Public Health
Director General
Tbilisi 0198,
Kakheti Hwy. #99
Phone: +995 32 2192599
Email:
a.gamkrelidze@ncdc.ge
From: Hedges, Sarah (CDC/DDPHSIS/CGH/DGHP) <vow7@cdc.gov>
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2020 21:08
To: Amiran Gamkrelidze
Cc: Elene Godziashvili; Paata Imnadze; Aparicio, Juan J (Tbilisi); de Ravello, Lori (CDC/DDPHSIS/CGH/OD); Maia Nikoleishvili
Subject: CDC office space
Dear Dr. Amiran,
I hope you and your family are well.
As we come together around the world to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, close relationships like the one CDC and NCDC share are critical to keeping the world a safer and healthier
place. As CDC’s future in Georgia through both the CDC Georgia Country Office and CDC’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office is more clear, I would like to formally re-open discussions around the possibility of CDC co-locating with NCDC in the
Administrative Building.
CDC is grateful to you and the NCDC community for including our team in your plans from the beginning. We know this request will require quite a bit of shuffling of NCDC staff
and appreciate your consideration.
At this time, we have 11 staff in the CDC Georgia Country Office and hope to also include 4 – 5 individuals from the CDC EECA Regional Office in this space. We can be flexible
with the number of individual offices and would hope to complete this move sometime this summer if it is convenient for you and your team. If the space originally designed for CDC is a possibility, we would be very grateful for the opportunity to move there.
Thank you again for your partnership.
Best regards,
Sarah
Sarah Hedges, MPH
Deputy Chief, Global Epidemiology, Laboratory and Surveillance Branch - Proposed
Division of Global Health Protection
Center for Global Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1825 Century Center
MS: V18-3
Atlanta, GA 30345
Phone: 404-639-7414
Cell: 404-451-7186
Shedges@cdc.gov