staff2 May 7, 2020

What’s New:

FEMA Public Assistance (PA)

  • On April 28, FEMA obligated $23 million to the State of Kansas to reimburse eligible purchases of PPE and medical supplies such as isolation gowns, masks, face shields, safety glasses and gloves, thermometers, disinfecting wipes, sanitizer, respirators, and ventilators to assist hospitals, medical clinics, and city and county governments. The money represents a 75 percent cost-share of the state’s estimated $30 million in eligible expenses.  The state funds the remaining 25 percent.
  • On April 27, FEMA obligated an additional $4 million to the State of Iowa to help reimburse eligible administrative costs the state has incurred as a result of its COVID-19 response.  The funds are a grant from the Public Assistance program that reimburses local and state governments, tribal nations and certain non-profit organizations for certain disaster-related costs.

FEMA Individual Assistance (IA)

Emergency Management Performance Grant-Supplemental (EMPG-S)

  • This grant program assists states, territories, tribes and local governments with their public health and emergency management activities supporting the prevention of, preparation for, and response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. The following awards have been made:
    • IA – $1,320,520.00
    • KS – $1,276,804.00
    • MO – $1,859,809.00 
    • NE – $1,099,792.00

Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems

  • Two Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems have been deployed to Topeka, Kansas (1) and Jefferson City, Missouri (1) for use in decontaminating N95 masks in an effort to help maximize critical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
    • A single Battelle system can decontaminate up to 80,000 N95 respirators in a day, making them available for reuse by healthcare workers and first responders.
    • When using the system, an N95 respirator can be decontaminated up to 20 times and still maintain sufficient filtration performance.

Background:

  • Federal response and support for COVID-19 efforts in the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and six federally recognized tribes continues to grow to help meet changing needs. 
    • Approximately 140 FEMA staff have been deployed to assist with the Region 7 response to COVID-19.
    • Other federal agencies supporting regional efforts include: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), its public health component known as Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response, the Department of Defense Coordinating Element, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a nationwide emergency under the Robert T. Stafford Act to help reimburse certain emergency costs and/or provide direct federal assistance to local, state and territorial governments, as well as tribal nations. The states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska were included in this sweeping designation.
  • On March 16, 2020, FEMA Region 7 activated its Regional Response Coordination Center in Kansas City, Missouri to provide a coordinated federal response to assist local, state and Tribal partners in the Midwest with COVID-19 efforts.  FEMA Region 7 is comprised of the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska and is home to nine federally recognized tribal nations.
  • Since March 13, all four states requested and received major disaster declarations. Currently, all 50 states have this same designation, the first time this has occurred in the history of the U.S.
  • Six of the nine federally recognized tribes in Region 7 have received direct emergency declarations to help reimburse certain emergency costs and get direct federal assistance to support their tribal nations’ COVID efforts.  Those tribes are:
    • Ponca Tribe of Nebraska
    • Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
    • Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas
    • Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas
    • Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska
    • Omaha Tribe of Nebraska

Assistance Provided:

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

  • Since mid-March, three shipments of PPE have been distributed from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to each of the four regional states.  Quantities were determined by the state’s pro rata population recorded in the 2010 U.S. census. To date, the federal government has provided the following quantities from the national stockpile: 
    • Iowa: Approximately 283,000 surgical masks, 261,000 pairs of gloves, 119,000 N95 respirators, 47,000 surgical gowns, 58,000 face shields and 1,900 coveralls.
    • Kansas: Approximately 274,000 surgical masks, 257,000 pairs of gloves, 115,000 N95 respirators, 46,000 surgical gowns, 56,000 face shields and 1,900 coveralls.
    • Missouri: Approximately 519,000 surgical masks, 144,000 pairs of gloves, 176,000 N95 respirators, 68,000 surgical gowns, 83,000 face shields and 2,000 coveralls.
    • Nebraska: Approximately 227,000 surgical masks, 231,000 pairs of gloves, 96,000 N95 respirators, 39,000 surgical gowns, 47,000 face shields and 1,800 coveralls.
  • From April 1-27, shipments of essential medical supplies from other sources have been sent by the federal government to R7 states and tribal nations:
    • Iowa: 32,300 pieces of PPE, hand sanitizer and testing supplies
    • Kansas: 2.4 million pieces of additional PPE and testing supplies  
    • Missouri: 338,500 pieces of PPE and testing supplies
    • Nebraska: 49,200 pieces of PPE and testing supplies.
  • Omaha Tribe of Nebraska: 1,400 pieces of PPE
  • Ponca Tribe of Nebraska: 3,200 pieces of PPE
  • Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska: 3,318 pieces of PPE
  • Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska: 3,800 pieces of PPE
  • Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas: 4,550 pieces of PPE
  • Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas: 2,642 pieces of PPE and medical supplies
  • Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas: 1,600 pieces of PPE
  • Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa (Meskwaki Nation): 1,000 pieces of PPE
  • FEMA also has facilitated disbursement of additional PPE through its Project Air Bridge operation.
    •  Project Air Bridge was created to fast-track the delivery of PPE from international markets directly to U.S. medical supply distributors for disbursement to their respective customers. 
    • FEMA covers the cost to fly supplies from oversea factories, reducing the customary shipping time of weeks to just days. 
    • All supplies will continue being distributed to CDC-designated hot spots as well as through the vendors’ regular supply chain to locations across the country.
    • During the first two weeks of April, millions of pieces of PPE were provided through Project Air Bridge directly to medical/hospital facilities within Region 7 states.

National Guard Support – Title 32

  • President Trump approved requests from all four R7 states for federally funded activation of National Guard personnel to support state-level COVID-19 efforts. 
  • Known as Title 32, the action means that the federal government pays 100 percent of the National Guard costs for a maximum of 30 days, saving money that the states would ordinarily have to pay. The action does not federalize command of activated National Guard personnel.  Rather, each state’s Governor still directs and controls the Guard’s COVID-19-related work in coordination with the U.S. Department of Defense.
  • At the request of Region 7 states, National Guard members have been put on a 31-day deployment, which triggers health benefits for guard members while on duty during that period. This coverage is not available for typical 30-day deployments but was requested because of the nature of this effort in a health-challenged environment.  
  • Each Region 7 state already has received at least $17 million from FEMA towards the Title 32 costs.

Creation of Alternate Care Sites (ACS)

  • An Alternate Care Site (ACS) in St. Louis County is open, providing additional capacity for St. Louis-area hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.
  • At the State of Missouri’s request and in an effort to be prepared, FEMA mission assigned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to convert a hotel into an ACS. Construction was completed in four days, and the first recovering patient arrived on April 14.
  • The state-run site only accepts patients who are medically referred by a St. Louis-area hospital system and have minimal or mild symptoms of COVID-19.

FEMA PA (Continued)

  • The Public Assistance Program provides grants to state and local governments, tribal nations and certain non-profit entities to assist with eligible costs associated with responding to and recovering from disasters.  
  • The PA program is activated by a presidential disaster declaration.  For Region 7 states and tribal nations, this includes both the emergency declarations and the major disaster declarations recently issued specifically for COVID-19 efforts.  
  • Now, eligible entities can apply for reimbursement of certain costs associated with taking emergency protective measures.  This includes such things as buying medical supplies, establishing temporary medical facilities used to treat patients, and some labor costs for temporary medical personnel.
  • FEMA has simplified the Public Assistance application and funding process to address the magnitude of the COVID-19 event.
  • All impacted governmental entities and nonprofit organizations can begin the Public Assistance application process by going online at https://grantee.fema.gov/. and directly submitting a Request for Public Assistance, as well as creating their own accounts. 
  • On April 4, FEMA awarded $44 million to the State of Iowa to reimburse eligible purchases of PPE such as isolation gowns, masks, face shields, safety glasses and gloves, thermometers, disinfecting wipes, sanitizer, respirators, and ventilators to assist hospitals, medical clinics, city and county governments, and certain private-non-profits across the state.

Direct Federal Assistance

  • At the request of all four R7 states, the president’s disaster declarations also authorized Direct Federal Assistance to help governmental entities and tribal nations with certain COVID-related actions that the states, localities and tribes themselves cannot undertake at this time for some reason, such as the inability to use their own personnel to perform a function or an inability to contract with someone else to do the work.
  • Direct Federal Assistance means that a federal resource directly performs an action on behalf of a state, locality or tribe. FEMA has tasked multiple federal agencies to provide this direct assistance. Here are a few examples:
    • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been tasked with building out Alternate Care Sites. 
    • The U.S. Department of Health and Human services is helping to secure medical supplies and providing technical expertise to the states and tribes related to COVID-19 issues. 
    • The U.S. Department of Agriculture is assisting with COVID-related food supply issues.

Support from Other Federal Agencies:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • On April 17, Secretary Perdue joined President Trump in announcing the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to assist farmers, ranchers, and consumers in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and across the Nation in response to COVID-19.
    • This $19 B relief program will provide $16 B in direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers and $3 B in purchases of fresh produce, dairy, and meat, including producers in KS, MO, IA, NE.
  • On April 25, USDA announced that its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) has established a National Incident Coordination Center to provide direct support to producers whose animals cannot move to market as a result of processing plant closures due to the COVID-19. 
    • APHIS’ Coordination Center, State Veterinarians, and other state officials will be assisting to help identify potential alternative markets if a producer is unable to move animals, and if necessary, advise and assist on depopulation and disposal methods.
  • Additionally, the USDA’s Natural Resources and Conservation Service will be providing state level technical assistance to producers and will provide cost-share assistance under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in line with program guidelines for disposal.

USDA has developed The COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide to provide a one-stop shop of federal programs that can be used by rural communities, organizations and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The downloadable guide is a first-of-its-kind resource for rural leaders looking for federal funding and partnership opportunities to help address the pandemic.

  • Three tribes and two states in Region 7 have been approved to do Disaster Household Distribution with USDA Foods.  This approval allows state and tribal staff to deliver food to individual households in order to maintain COVID-19 guidelines on social distancing. 
    • The Kansas Department of Children and Families and the Missouri Department of Social Services are the state agencies approved for this service. 
    • The approved tribes are: 
  1. The United Tribes of Kansas and Southeast Nebraska (Kansas)
  2. The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska (Nebraska)
  3. The Santee Sioux Tribe (Nebraska)
  • USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) staff are providing technical assistance and guidance to states seeking waivers to help them provide services during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting social distancing and recognizing some limits in availability of food types and package sizes. 
    • Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program waivers support remote certifications, allow food and package substitutions and waive requirements for physician statements for medical foods. 
  • Numerous Child Nutrition Program (CNP) waivers include an April 6 nationwide waiver allowing states to exceed a 60-day initial claims submission deadline for January and February 2020. 
  • In addition, FNS staff have helped gather additional information to assist Region 7 states with opting into a CNP nationwide meal pattern component waiver covering meat/meat alternates, whole grain rich products, vegetable sub-groups and fruit. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

  • HHS has awarded more than $59 million in coronavirus response grant funding to community health centers (CHCs) throughout the region to help meet staffing needs and prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19 patients. The breakdown is:
    • $27 million to 29 Missouri CHCs
    • $15 million to 19 Kansas CHCs
    • $11 million to 14 Iowa CHCs
    • $6 million to 7 Nebraska CHCs

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

  • The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) will receive $13.6 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development to support Missouri’s COVID-19 response efforts.
  • HUD has made more than $16 million of COVID-19 Relief Funding available to communities in Nebraska, $33 million to communities in Iowa, $23 million to communities in Kansas and more than $57 million to communities in Missouri.
  • HUD has made $2.7 million of COVID-19 relief funding available to assist federally recognized tribes in Region 7.

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

  • Iowa:
    • DOT allocated more than $107.1 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds to help the Iowa public transportation systems respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
    • DOT awarded more than $70.4 million from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help fund continuing operations and lost revenue for airports in Iowa.
  • Kansas:
    • DOT allocated more than $91.5 million in FTA funds to help the Kansas public transportation systems respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
    • DOT awarded more than $53.4 million from the FAA to help fund continuing operations and lost revenue for airports in Kansas.
  • Missouri:
    • DOT allocated more than $256.2 million in FTA funds to help the Missouri public transportation systems respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
    • DOT awarded more than $152.4 million from the FAA to help fund continuing operations and lost revenue for airports in Missouri.
  • Nebraska:
    • DOT allocated more than $62.8 million in FTA funds to help the Nebraska public transportation systems respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
    • DOT awarded more than $64.6 million from the FAA to help fund continuing operations and lost revenue for airports in Nebraska.

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

  • SBA has awarded more than $100 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans throughout Region 7.  Here is the breakdown as of April 20:
    • Iowa: 95 loans for $15,896,600
    • Kansas: 116 loans for $25,034,700
    • Missouri: 210 loans for $45,471,000
    • Nebraska: 52 loans for $12,439,600

COVID-19 Information Resources:

FEMA

Check out recently updated online resources regarding COVID-19 at the links below.  Feel free to include these links in your COVID communications and/or link any or all pages to your own websites:

General Information

Visit our COVID-19 page for the latest on the whole-of-America response. Learn what we’re doing to support patients and healthcare workers, how we are prioritizing resources, and sources of support for economic recovery. 

Rumor Control

Rumors can easily circulate within communities during a crisis. Stay informed on what is rumor vs fact related to the coronavirus response. www.fema.gov/coronoavirus-rumor-control.

COVID-19 Response: How to Help

Learn how to help if you are a company with medical supplies to donate or sell, a volunteer who is medically trained, or a member of the general public.

COVID-19 Partner Resources

Learn what help is available to state, local, tribal & territorial governments and how to get financial reimbursement from FEMA. 

New Guide on Disaster Financial Management

See our new Disaster Financial Management Guide and an accompanying Fact Sheet which can help partners navigate financial complexities they will be facing in the coming months due to COVID-19. 

Do Business with the Federal Government

Learn how to do business with the Federal Government. To sell medical equipment or supplies you must be registered with sam.gov and submit a price quote online.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/Center for Disease Control (CDC)

Indian Health Service (IHS)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

  • USDA has developed The COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide to provide a one-stop shop of federal programs that can be used by rural communities, organizations and individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The downloadable guide is a first-of-its-kind resource for rural leaders looking for federal funding and partnership opportunities to help address the pandemic.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

  • The IRS has established a special section focused on steps to help taxpayers, businesses and others affected by the coronavirus. Find more info here: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

FEMA reminds the general public that the virus can affect persons of any age, and that each and every person can help slow the spread of coronavirus by frequently washing hands, disinfecting surfaces, practicing physical distancing (at least six feet from another person) and staying home as much as possible until local or state authorities provide different direction.

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