NH Delegation Announces $11 Million in CARES Act Funding to Help Protect and Care for N.H. Nursing Home Residents
(Washington, DC)— Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) announced $11.4 million in funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help New Hampshire nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the funding will help hire and train staff, as well as purchase PPE and testing. The New Hampshire delegation voted for the CARES Act and stood firm during negotiations to make sure additional funding was provided to health care providers and nursing home facilities.
“Nursing home residents are by far the most vulnerable population to COVID-19 in New Hampshire and every effort must be made to keep them safe,” said Senator Shaheen. “This funding will immediately be put to use to hire additional trained employees and protect residents and caregivers from COVID-19. The CARES Act was a broad bipartisan agreement that has provided substantial relief to New Hampshire to address many challenges from COVID-19. Mitch McConnell needs to immediately bring the Senate back to once again work across the aisle to deliver help to the many Americans who are hurting.”
“Here in New Hampshire, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its greatest toll on residents and employees of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and my heart goes out to all the families who have lost loved ones,” said Senator Hassan. “Nursing homes must receive additional support to keep residents and employees safe as the pandemic continues, and I am pleased that nursing homes in our state will receive this much-needed federal funding to help with staffing, testing, and personal protective equipment. I will keep pushing the administration to strengthen its public health response to this pandemic and for Congress to pass additional relief, including to meet the needs of those most vulnerable to COVID-19.”
"Though we have worked hard to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep our communities safe, Granite Staters living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities remain extremely vulnerable to the virus," said Representative Kuster. "This CARES Act funding will provide nursing homes in our state with much-needed support and resources to help with staff training, testing, and personal protective equipment. I will continue working to ensure that New Hampshire’s nursing homes have the resources they need to keep employees, residents, and caregivers safe throughout this ongoing pandemic.”
“Our health care workers, first responders, and state officials have been working around the clock to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. But our family, friends, and neighbors living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities remain at an incredibly high risk of COVID-19,” said Representative Pappas. “These federal dollars will play an important role ensuring our nursing homes have the equipment, training, and staff they need to keep their residents safe. More support is needed, and I will continue to advocate for New Hampshire to receive all the assistance we need.”
In July, Shaheen, Hassan, Kuster and Pappas announced more than $6.1 million in COVID-19 relief for New Hampshire health care providers. In May, the delegation announced $1.4 million to boost New Hampshire hospitals’ readiness and response capabilities to COVID-19. Earlier that month, they announced $19.78 million in support through the CARES Act to help New Hampshire nursing facilities. Shaheen helped to introduce new legislation with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) to protect residents and contain the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes. In early April, the delegation announced that New Hampshire providers received $164.5 million from an initial installment of health care provider grants. They also announced $115.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds for rural hospitals and health care providers, as well as an additional $16 million for Granite State providers.
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