Hospitals in Montgomery County, Maryland, will get $10 million in a special appropriation to help them prepare for a projected surge in patients due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Montgomery County council voted 9-0 in favor of the emergency funding.
Two county agencies — the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security — will administer the funds.
The money will be allotted to hospitals to buy personal protection equipment and other supplies, to hire staff as needed, and “to do things like converting non-clinical space to clinical space to increase bed capacity,” said Council member Gabe Albornoz, who chairs the council’s Health and Human Services Committee.
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The council also voted to approve $20 million in grants for businesses hit by shutdown orders.
It also approved $6 million in grants for families who would otherwise not qualify for federal aid.
View a breakdown of the county’s actions in the graphic below.
