BOSTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending nearly $3.6 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. for the costs of operating a temporary hospital to handle patient loads during the COVID pandemic.
The $3,597,687 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the health care system in Central Massachusetts - headquartered in Worcester and affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School - for setting up and operating an alternate care site at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester between January and September 2020. Those costs included medical equipment for the facility as well as air filtration equipment, security equipment and cameras, and personal protective equipment (PPE). UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. also contracted for medical personnel, disinfection and food services for the temporary hospital.
“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 nearly $1.3 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.
Source: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
