Gov. Beshear’s administration secures $21.9 million in FEMA disaster payout to communities

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that his administration secured over $21.9 million in FEMA disaster funds.

Of those funds, $4.7 million will be distributed to the Bowling Green Warren County Community Hospital Corporation, also known as Med Center Health.

The funds are a financial safety net and result of the hands-on community response Med Center Health committed to during COVID-19.

“What the funding does is it reimburses us for the cost we incurred during the pandemic, but all funding is important to us. Any and all funding allows us to be prepared to take care of the community and respond to any future emergencies,” said Michele Lawless, the executive vice president and CFO of Med Center Health.

Lawless said hospitals, like Med Center Health, were faced with financial strains due to the extremities of COVID-19.

“The financial impact was significant. So, some extraordinary costs that we and other hospitals endured were a cost for staffing, a cost for supplies and other equipment for emergency needs that we needed in order to respond to the pandemic,” she said.

She said the funds are proof that the hard work put into community health during the pandemic, did not go unseen.

“During COVID, you know, we cared for patients and supported our communities, so this funding represents the extraordinary efforts and resources that were required to do that,” said Lawless.