CHICAGO - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that $9.8 million in federal funding has been made available to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) for costs associated with the deployment of teams of temporary healthcare workers to state-operated long-term care facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This grant funding is part of the recovery efforts for the federal disaster declaration of March 26, 2020. This funding will reimburse IEMA for costs incurred in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health to deploy teams of temporary healthcare workers for supplemental clinical staff, and to perform measures to manage, control and reduce threats to public health and safety at long-term care facilities throughout the state.
“FEMA’s Public Assistance Program is an important resource for communities affected by COVID-19,” said Kevin M. Sligh, acting regional administrator, FEMA Region 5. “This grant funding has helped ensure critical medical services are available across Illinois to help combat this virus.”
“As the pandemic spread throughout the nation, the State of Illinois built a robust medical reserve corps to ensure a quick and expedient response to meet the needs of our residents,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “We are eternally grateful for these skilled and experienced healthcare workers who served on the frontlines during uncertain times to care for some of our most vulnerable residents and provide essential training and assistance to facilities throughout our state.”
The Public Assistance Program funding will be administered by IEMA. FEMA provides a 75 percent federal share of eligible reimbursable expenses for this project. The federal share of the FEMA grant is $9,843,567 with the remaining amount paid by IEMA.
FEMA’s Public Assistance Program provides funding to local government jurisdictions and eligible private non-profits for the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged infrastructure as well as costs incurred for debris removal, disaster cleanup and emergency actions taken to protect lives or property. To learn more, visit FEMA’s website at https://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit.
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