FEMA grants to reimburse $14 million to Lowell General Hospital for COVID staffing costs

LOWELL, Mass. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $14 million to the state to reimburse Lowell General Hospital for the costs of contracting for additional staff to handle increased patient loads during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

The hospital, part of the Tufts Medicine health system, will receive $14,041,699 in FEMA Public Assistance grants to reimburse it for paying temporary nursing staff to work between August 2020 and January 2022.

Nursing contractors Medical Solutions LLC and Vital Contingent Planning provided more than 51,670 hours of labor at Lowell General Hospital’s Main Campus and at Saints Campus.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Lowell General Hospital 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 nearly $1.4 billion in public assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.

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