The state House of Representatives recently passed legislation to make $25 million in grant money available for Emergency Medical Services to offset COVID-19 impacts.
This funding is on top of the $225 million relief plan for healthcare facilities and frontline workers passed by the General Assembly and signed into law last week.
“Our EMS teams, especially in rural Pennsylvania, have been crucial in responding to this pandemic and remain a necessary part of the arsenal needed to provide emergency services to Pennsylvania communities,” said Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin). “Making this significant amount of funding available is essential to ensuring these critical organizations can survive during these extremely trying times and be positioned to remain sustainable in the future.”
The grant legislation, Senate Bill 739, will allocate a total of $25 million in federal disaster relief funds to be distributed under the Emergency Medical Services COVID-19 Recovery Grant Program. EMS companies will be able to apply for these funds through the Office of the State Fire Commissioner.
After passing the House unanimously, the legislation now heads back to the Senate for concurrence and could reach the governor’s desk later this week.
