The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $4.6 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse Mass General Brigham, Inc. for the cost of contracting for additional staff to deal with increased patient loads during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $4,615,690 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Boston-based integrated health care system – anchored by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital– for contracting for temporary staff at its facilities between March 2020 and February 2022.
Mass General Brigham, Inc. contracted for staff to work in inpatient units, intensive care units, emergency departments, and its respiratory clinic during that time period.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Mass General Brigham with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation’s ongoing recovery.”
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 $2.7 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.