AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission reminds rural hospitals and nursing homes in Texas to seek $ 128 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to help cover critical personnel needs during the pandemic of COVID-19. The deadline to apply is Wednesday January 12th.
“We encourage healthcare providers who have worked so hard to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic to take this opportunity and apply for these funds that can help fill critical labor shortages or pay bonuses to retain employees, ”said the HHSC. Chief Financial Officer Trey Wood.
HHSC is distributing approximately $ 90 million in direct grants to nursing facilities in Texas with an active license as of November 8, 2021 under the Nursing Facility COVID-19 in Healthcare Relief Grant (NF-CHRG) program. Each eligible facility will receive $ 75,000. The grant can be used for critical staffing needs, such as bonuses and hiring contract staff.
The agency is also distributing approximately $ 38 million or $ 250,000 to each eligible rural hospital under the Rural Hospital COVID-19 in Healthcare Relief Grant (RH-CHRG) program. The funds are discretionary and can be used by rural hospitals to support losses of staff, infrastructure or revenue related to the pandemic.
The HHSC administers the grant agreements to legally authorized representatives of the approximately 1,200 eligible nursing facilities and approximately 150 eligible rural hospitals as of January 2022. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, January 12. Six months after award, grantees must submit documentation to HHSC regarding how they have used the funds.
Funds for the grant programs were authorized under Senate Bill 8, 87th Legislature, 3rd Called Session, 2021. The money comes from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund (42 USC Section 802) established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub .L. N ° A117-2).
For more information on the Nursing Facility COVID-19 in Healthcare Relief Grant and the Rural Hospital COVID-19 in Healthcare Relief Grant program, including the lists of eligible rural nursing facilities and hospitals in Texas, visit : https://www.hhs.texas.gov/business/grants/covid-19-healthcare-relief-grants.
