Governor Andy Beshear announced that his administration has secured more than $105 million in FEMA disaster funds to reimburse six Kentucky hospitals and the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management for expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reimbursement covers costs incurred between January 2020 and May 11, 2023, under FEMA Disaster 4497, the Kentucky COVID-19 Pandemic Major Disaster declaration.

Appalachian Regional Healthcare will receive $22,944,962.88, Baptist Health $17,207,818.93, UofL Health $13,397,435.97, T.J. Samson Community Hospital $6,917,666.16, AdventHealth Manchester $1,628,812.06, and Pikeville Medical Center $1,447,750.47. Kentucky Emergency Management will receive $41,820,598.35.

The disaster funds supported hospital safety measures, patient care, materials and supplies, personal protective equipment, medical support, contract labor, emergency protective measures and medications such as remdesivir.

Eric Gibson, director of Kentucky Emergency Management, said the state is processing the funds as quickly as possible. "Our first responders and hospitals went to great lengths to protect the lives of Kentuckians during the pandemic, and I am grateful that we were able to secure this funding and provide the reimbursements these hospitals and our team deserve," Gibson said.

Hospital leaders praised the reimbursement. Neil Thornbury, CEO of T.J. Regional Health, said the funding "acknowledges both the sacrifices made by healthcare workers and the ongoing need to ensure rural communities have access to strong, dependable healthcare close to home." UofL Health CEO Dr. Jason Smith called the funds a way to "close that chapter and open up what I hope is the next chapter of healthcare in the commonwealth."

Governor Beshear said his administration pushed to ensure hospitals received the reimbursements they were owed under the president's emergency declaration, even though the funding is arriving years after the height of the pandemic.