Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced that the Maine Hospital Association has been awarded $468,448 to aid Maine hospitals in preparing to treat COVID-19 patients.  This funding, authorized in the CARES Act they voted for, was awarded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP).

“Doctors, nurses, first responders, and other medical professionals are working on the front lines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “This funding will support a tried and tested collaboration between hospitals and health care providers in Maine and throughout the country, ensuring that medical professionals have the training and resources they need to care for COVID-19 patients.” 

To help speed health care preparations, this funding will support the National Special Pathogen System, which will leverage the regional, tiered infrastructure originally set up for the U.S. Ebola response and will take the same successful approach used daily across the country to care for trauma, burn, cardiac, or stroke patients.

HPP provides leadership and funding through grants and cooperative agreements to states, territories, and eligible municipalities to improve the capacity of the health care system to plan for and respond to medical surge events. HPP supports regional collaboration on health care preparedness and response by encouraging the development and sustainment of health care coalitions, which are groups of health care and response organizations that collaborate together to plan for disasters and emergencies.

Formed in 1937, the Maine Hospital Association represents 36 community-governed hospitals in Maine.  The Augusta-based non-profit Association is the primary advocate for hospitals in the Maine State Legislature, the U.S. Congress, and state and federal regulatory agencies.  It also provides educational services and serves as a clearinghouse for comprehensive information for its hospital members, lawmakers, and the public. 

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