Banner gets additional $47M FEMA grant to offset COVID costs

Federal funds go to Colorado hospitals hit hard by staffing shortages during pandemic

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Administration has approved an additional $47 million in public assistance funding for the COVID-19 response in Colorado.

The assistance was made available under a major disaster declaration issued March 28, 2020. FEMA has now approved more than $1.8 billion in Public Assistance grant funds to Colorado for the COVID-19 response.

The FEMA Public Assistance funds were approved to reimburse Banner Health of Colorado for the cost of hiring contracted staff to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients. In response to the public health crisis caused by the pandemic, Banner Health hired an additional 494 temporary medical staff to provide COVID-19 care including intensive care, medical/surgical care, progressive care, emergency center support, sterile processing, preadmission services, and support for respiratory care departments.

Banner owns a number of hospitals in northern Colorado, including the Sterling Regional Medcenter. In a prepared statement issued by the company’s public relations office, Banner said the claim “is based on the substantial contract labor costs that were incurred as part of our response to the pandemic. This award is helping us recover those costs. As a nonprofit health system, all earnings are reinvested in the communities we serve.”

The FEMA grant covers the cost of temporary staffing utilized by Banner Health facilities between March 15, 2020, and Feb. 6, 2022.

For the COVID-19 response, FEMA has simplified the Public Assistance application and funding process to address the magnitude of this event and to allow state and local governments to receive eligible funding more quickly. These reimbursements play a critical role as state, tribal and local officials work to assist their communities during the response.

To fully support this essential work, the President authorized provision of FEMA Public Assistance at 100 percent federal funding through July 1, 2022. Beginning July 2, 2022, the federal cost share for COVID-19 projects is 90 percent of the eligible cost.