Applications Accepted Beginning Aug. 23
HARRISBURG – August 18, 2021–Sen. Michele Brooks is urging all long-term care facilities to apply for newly available grants that she succeeded in securing with the help of her colleagues in the 2021-2022 Commonwealth budget to improve indoor air management and to suppress the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.
The Department of Human Services will accept applications for this grant program beginning August 23, 2021 until all allocated funds have been committed.
“I strongly encourage all nursing facilities, personal care homes, and assisted living residences to apply beginning Aug. 23,” Brooks stated. “Funds will go quickly. The maximum grant is $15,000 with no local match required. In developing language for this grant program, I also required a regional component to ensure that every part of the state is awarded these valuable grant dollars. Please don’t miss this opportunity for assistance in upgrading your HVAC systems.”
Complete applications for the Indoor Air Management Strategies Grant Program should be submitted by mail to RA-PWOLTLCOVID-19@pa.gov with “RFA No. 20-21 Application” as the subject line.
Applicants are asked to read the RFA on eMarketplace carefully for further details on the grant program and how to apply. Please note that “RFA 20-21 Addendum 1.pdf” was recently added to the RFA that documents the change in the beginning of the application process from August 16 to 23. This change allows time for applicants to submit their questions in writing to RA-PWRFAQESTIONS@pa.gov by August 19, 2021.
Answers to questions will be posted on eMarketplace as an addendum this week.
According to federal health officials, indoor ventilation mitigation strategies can help reduce the concentration of viral particles, which, in turn, reduces the chance they will enter the lungs. Ventilation system upgrades can increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants.
“Despite the valiant, loving efforts of long-term care staff during the pandemic, we were saddened to see how COVID-19 plagued congregate settings,” Brooks noted. “This grant program is designed as a creative tool for our congregate settings and their residents moving forward.”
The program allocates $5 million to the state Department of Human Services (DHS) from federal American Rescue Plan funds to support long-term care facilities in installing indoor air management systems to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 and other transmission based on newer technologies.
Indoor air management strategies that qualify for funding include:
- Dilution
- Airflow patterns
- Outdoor air ventilation
- Pressurization
- Demand-controlled ventilation
- Temperature and humidity distribution and control
- Filtration
- Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation
- Personalized ventilation systems for certain high-risk tasks
- Portable, free-standing high-efficiency particulate air filters
- Ionization technology
- Ozonation.
If a congregate care setting official has questions, please contact Sen. Brooks at her Harrisburg office at 717-787-1322.
Contact: Diane McNaughton (717) 787-1322 dmmcnaughton@pasen.gov