BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending almost $3.8 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. for the additional costs of operating safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $3,757,639 in Public Assistance grants will reimburse the health care system in central Massachusetts – headquartered in Worcester and affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School – for steps taken to protect patients, staff and the public between March 2020 and September 2021.
One grant of $1,489,664.05 will reimburse the hospital for renting heaters and air conditioners to set up temporary facilities and purchasing items such as medication dispensing system, an oxygen flowmeter, medical carts, thermometers, respirators and ventilators with accessories, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
A second grant of $2,267,975 will help pay for supplies including respirator/ventilator supplies; postmortem kits for the storage of human remains; and diagnostic supplies such as alcohol, blood drawing supplies, mucus drawing supplies, pipettes, reagents, and specimen transfer bags to support emergency medical care and COVID-19 testing activities, including the purchase of 720 rapid antigen test kits.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
So far, FEMA has provided more than $1.5 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.