The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending nearly $6.8 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the Cambridge Health Alliance – also known as the Cambridge Public Health Commission -- for the cost of contracting for additional staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $6,767,102 in Public Assistance grants will reimburse the Cambridge Health Alliance, a health network affiliated with Harvard Medical School and serving the communities north of Boston, for the cost of contracting for temporary staff to respond to the surge in patents caused by pandemic between July 2021 and March 2022.
During that time the Cambridge Health Alliance increased staffing by contracting with several companies for additional staff in inpatient and surgical units, intensive care units, emergency departments, respiratory clinics, pharmacies, and laboratories.
One grant of $2,147,595 will cover the costs of contracts with Aya Healthcare and Aureus, CHG Medical Staffing, Cross Country Travecorps, KNF&T Staffing, Millennium Travel Nursing, Talemed, and Truststaff Travel Nurses between July and September 2021.
A second grant of $4,619,507 will reimburse Cambridge Health Alliance for 86 temporary staff who worked a total of 24,871 hours at Cambridge Hospital and East Cambridge Care Center in Cambridge; Everett Hospital Emergency Department; Malden Care Center; and Somerville Urgent Care Center, Broadway Care Center, and CHA Occupational Health Program in Somerville between November 2021 and March 2022.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Cambridge Health Alliance 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.