FEMA AWARDS MORE THAN $1 MILLION TO BAYSTATE MEDICAL CENTER FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE COSTS [https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230510/fema-awards-more-1-million-baystate-medical-center-covid-19-response-costs] Release Date: 十一月 21, 2022 BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse Baystate Medical Center for the costs of steps taken to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The $1,024,676 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the 716-bed independent medical center in Springfield – affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School – for the cost of buying personal protective equipment (PPE) and contracting for other needed services between April 2020 and May 2022. In addition to purchasing PPE such as surgical masks, gowns, isolation gowns, KN95 masks, nitrile gloves and materials such as sanitizer wipes and hand sanitizer, Baystate Medical Center rented a 20-foot mobile morgue truck and contracted with Crocker Communications Inc. to set up and staff a COVID-19 hotline. “FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Baystate 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.” 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 $1.4 billion in Public Assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the commonwealth for pandemic-related expenses.