Montgomery County Hospitals Getting $10M In Coronavirus Aid

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Montgomery County Council has approved $10 million in funding to help local hospitals prepare for the expected surge of coronavirus cases.

The money will be taken from the General Fund Reserves and administered through the county's health department and Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

The county's six hospitals will be able to use the $10 million to hire staff, buy new equipment, get more beds, and convert non-clinical spaces into treatment center, according to Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, the council's Health and Human Services Committee chair.

"There may be more (money) needed later as this progresses. But this will help our hospitals immediately to be able to help prepare. As the governor has said many times: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," Albornoz said.

In addition to these funds, county lawmakers have approved a $250,000 special appropriation that would help fund hotel rooms for nurses, first responders, and other frontline health care workers to use as the coronavirus pandemic intensifies.

SEE ALSO:

• County To Help Fund Hotel Rooms For Hospital Staff Amid Pandemic
  
• Olive & Loom Sending Care Packages To Coronavirus Hospital Staff
• José Andrés Donating 4,000 Masks To Hospitals: Coronavirus
• Coronavirus In Montgomery County: What To Do If You Have Symptoms

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