The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $17.2 million to the State of Connecticut to reimburse MidState Medical Center (MMC) for the cost of purchasing materials and hiring temporary staff needed to safely treat patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $17,218,586 FEMA Public Assistance grant will reimburse the 156-bed acute care hospital – a Hartford HealthCare Partner located in Meriden – for the costs of safely opening and operating the hospital between March 2020 and June 2022.
The grant will reimburse MidState Medical Center for the cost of paying 169 temporary employees – registered nurses, surgical techs, respiratory therapists, and administrative staff – for a total of 89,605 regular hours and 3,046 overtime hours. This staff supported the hospital with the treatment and screening of COVID patients during the pandemic.
Additionally, MMC purchased medical gloves, air filtration systems, flow meters and flow sensors, hemostatic solution, infusion pumps, IVs and supplies for fluid delivery, freestanding plexiglass dividers, and testing kit supplies. Equipment purchases included air scrubbers, COVID-19 signage, morgue trailers, patient monitors and accessories, and software.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist MidState Medical Center 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 $813 million in Public Assistance grants to Connecticut to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.