With the Bronx considered the epicenter of COVID-19 at one point last year, hospitals were forced to dip into their own funds to purchase equipment and supplies needed to save lives. Those same hospitals are still waiting for FEMA to reimburse the money, with some elected officials now calling on the federal agency to rectify the situation immediately.
With a shortage of ventilators, medication, PPE, masks and much more, the NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) system spent $860 million of its own funds, assuming FEMA would reimburse them. H+H, which includes 11 public hospitals, has been waiting to receive assistance from FEMA since October 2020.
