The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse Tufts Medical Center for the cost of renting equipment and other measures taken to protect patients, staff and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $1,065,481 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the teaching hospital in Boston affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine for steps taken to deal with increased patient loads due to the Coronavirus between March and December 2020.

Using contracts and its own staff, the hospital provided additional beds, social distancing materials/shields, additional cleaning and disinfection, and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Tufts Medical Center 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.

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