FEMA Awards State of Vermont Over $3.1 Million For COVID Hospital Staffing Costs

BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $3.1 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse it for the costs of providing extra staff for hospitals to handle increased patient loads during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $3,101,046 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the Vermont Agency of Human Services for the cost of contracting temporary nursing staff to support the subacute skilled nursing facility (SNF) and/or intensive care unit (ICU) beds that were expanded at nine hospitals due to COVID 19 between November 2021 and April 2022.

The Northwestern Medical Center ICU in St. Albans was the largest recipient, receiving 12,839 hours of work from registered nurses and respiratory therapists at a cost of $1,792,099.

The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington  received 989 hours of work performed by 21 registered nurses at a cost of $180,000, while seven other facilities received a total of $1,128,947 worth of contracted labor to support 132 SNF beds.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the State of Vermont 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 $448 million in grants to Vermont to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.