BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $4.4 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse Central Vermont Medical Center for the costs of hiring temporary nursing staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $4,445,084 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the 122-bed hospital in Berlin – affiliated with the University of Vermont Health Network – for the cost of hiring temporary registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and respiratory therapists to care for COVID-19 patients between July 2020 and June 2022.
In addition to providing high-acuity direct patient care, the nurses and therapists closely worked with pulmonologists to provide comprehensive respiratory care and ongoing training associated with developing and practicing approved workflows to prevent transmission of the disease.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Central Vermont 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.”