PHILADELPHIA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region 3 has provided more than $3 billion to local and state agencies, school districts, nonprofits and other public entities in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia for costs related to saving lives and protecting people during the COVID-19 mission.
The federal grant funding is being provided to reimburse costs associated with emergency protective measures taken to protect the public before vaccines were developed and distributed to the public, and actions taken to store, handle, transport, distribute and administer vaccines to reduce the spread the of the virus.
“This milestone shows FEMA’s commitment to providing critical funding to our state, local and nonprofit partners,” said FEMA Region 3 Regional Administrator MaryAnn Tierney. “The crucial work of the federal family and the whole response and recovery community has helped the nation reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protected residents and frontline medical workers. FEMA will continue to work hand in hand with all of our federal, state and tribal partners until this mission is complete.”
Totals for each state and the District of Columbia provided are:
Delaware: $181.6 million
District of Columbia: $452.1 million
Maryland: $1.1 billion
Pennsylvania: $574.8 million
Virginia: $616.8 million
West Virginia: $54.2 million
Scores of projects comprise the $3 billion total. A few recent projects that FEMA Region 3 provided funding for include:
District of Columbia
D.C. Office of Contracts and Procurement – $49,181,756.50
- Purchased equipment, materials, supplies, and services in response to COVID-19, which included services for monitoring of positive COVID-19 cases/contact tracing and providing N95 protective mask fit testing. Additional projects included building out the Medical-Surgical unit at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, St. Elizabeth’s hospital expansion for additional patient beds, and supporting morgue operations and victim identification.
Delaware
Delaware Emergency Management Agency – $159,636,781.83
- Provided test kits, rapid test analyzers, community-based testing locations, and PPE.
Maryland
Mercy Health Services, Baltimore – $14,198,513.13
- Provided Emergency Medical Care through the capacity expansion of an existing medical facility adding 32 beds.
Pennsylvania
City of Philadelphia – $17,774,703.45
- Provided non-congregate isolation and quarantine sheltering with site management and wraparound services for high-risk individuals.
Virginia
Valley Health, Winchester – $6,773,758.00
- Provided temporary medical facilities and sheltering for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic at Valley Health. One section of Winchester Medical Center was converted into a COVID ward during the pandemic. To ensure that only authorized personnel entered the area, they installed a temporary door, door frame, and partition wall to close off the corridor.
“These funds made a great difference to people and communities throughout our region, and continue to have a positive impact,” Tierney said. “The funds enabled medical staffs to care for more people. They provided vital equipment and supplies to protect frontline workers and the public. They saved lives.”
Grants for emergency protective measures are funded through FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant program, which reimburses communities for actions taken in the immediate response and during recovery from a disaster. Eligible applicants include states, federally recognized tribal governments, U.S. territories, local governments and certain private non-profit organizations.