The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1.1 million to the State of Maine to reimburse Maine Medical Center in Portland for various costs incurred providing vaccination services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $1,124,827 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the 637-bed teaching hospital and flagship facility for MaineHealth for the costs associated with setting up vaccination centers between June 2020 and May 2022.
The hospital supported four temporary centers in Portland, Scarborough, Falmouth, and Westbrook which administered a total of 321,071 COVID-19 vaccines.
Maine Medical Center purchased materials such as medical supplies, office supplies, signage, scheduling software, and temporary barriers, and contracted for temporary staffing for call centers and vaccination centers, management consulting, IT services, software, and professional outreach campaigns.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Maine 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 $306 million in Public Assistance grants to Maine to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.