The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $6.1 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. for the cost of paying overtime for staff to handle increased patient loads during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $6,136,867 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the health care system in central Massachusetts – headquartered in Worcester and affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School – for the cost of paying overtime to staff between July and December 2022.
The 3,261 staff impacted included licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, houseworkers, ambulatory services representatives, medical administrative secretaries, and executive secretaries who worked a total of 264,088 hours.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist UMass Memorial Health Care 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 $2.6 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.