The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1.5 million to the State of Maine to reimburse Maine General Medical Center for the cost of paying overtime for staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $1,523,580 Public Assistance grant will go to the non-profit health system headquartered in Augusta to cover the cost of having part-time and float staff work additional shifts above and beyond their regular schedule to provide emergency medical care services in departments with high volumes of COVID-19 patients between December 2021 and April 2022.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Maine General 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.”
So far, FEMA has provided almost $158 million in Public Assistance grants to Maine to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.