FEMA Awards More Than $2 Million to Massachusetts for COVID-19 Hospital Staffing

BOSTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will send more than $2 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse it for the cost of hiring temporary staff to handle the increased patient loads at public healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $2,079,767 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the cost of contracting for medical and nursing staff to support state-run medical facilities between April 2020 and July 2021.

The department contracted for 123 staff, such as registered nurses, certified medical assistants, physicians, and respiratory therapists, for a total of 20,595 hours, at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Tewksbury Hospital, and Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children in Canton.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with these costs,” FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich said. “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 $1.6 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the Commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.