SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $3 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR UNITED HEALTH SERVICES IN THE SOUTHERN TIER FOR COVID RESPONSE
NY Hospitals Heroically Responded To COVID Outbreak, Ripping Holes In Their Budgets To Obtain PPE, Cleaning/Disinfecting Facilities, Testing, And More
Senators Say FEMA Funding – At A 100% Federal Cost Share – Will Reimburse The Health System For Costs Related to Pandemic Response
Schumer, Gillibrand: From Binghamton To Norwich Federal Funding Will Boost UHS, Southern Tier, Keep Our Hospitals Strong & Communities Safe
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that United Health Services (UHS) in the Southern Tier will receive $3,069,039 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover costs associated with emergency protective measures taken for their COVID responses. The funds reimburse for expenses related to the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning/disinfecting supplies, services such as contracts for medical staff and nurses to cover hospital COVID units, and temporary emergency medical expansions (like COVID-19 testing sites). UHS is comprised of community hospitals such Wilson Medical Center-Johnson City, NY, Binghamton General Hospital- Binghamton, NY, Chenango Memorial Hospital- Norwich, NY, and Delaware Valley Hospital- Walton, NY, and employs more than 6,500 people. This funding is provided at a 100% federal cost share, which Schumer fought hard to include for NY since the pandemic began.
“UHS, and its hospitals from Binghamton General Hospital to Chenango Memorial, and so many other entities throughout New York heroically stepped up by increasing spending, while experiencing significant revenue loss, and working ceaselessly to help New York beat back this virus. I am proud to deliver this vital federal support to help these essential medical facilities recover and continue to keep our communities safe,” said Senator Schumer. “Upstate New York and its hospitals have been amongst the hardest hit in the nation, and with this funding, one of the Southern Tier’s largest front line health care systems and its incredible workforce will receive the dollars they need, and so very much deserve, to keep saving lives.”
“Spiking costs and slashed revenues over the past two years of the pandemic have cost heath care providers billions of dollars,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This federal funding will help ensure that United Health Services can maintain staffing levels, provide PPE, and continue to keep our Southern Tier communities safe as we continue to encounter and fight new variants of COVID-19. I’ll keep working to help New York medical facilities offset operating costs so that they can keep providing quality care to every New Yorker.”
"Protecting our community's health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been extremely demanding. Every day over the past two years I have been inspired by the heroic work of our staff and physicians. In these very uncertain times, significant federal support from FEMA has helped UHS Hospitals continue to provide patients with safe and trusted care environments, and our valued employees will continue to have the protective equipment essential to their safety," said John Carrigg, President & CEO of United Health Services Hospitals, Inc. "Fighting COVID-19 also required the commitment of so many other community partners and government leaders. We are very grateful to count Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand among those dedicated leaders."
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