Georgia assisted living communities and personal care homes will be eligible for up to $100,000 of grant funding to reimburse COVID-related expenses. Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp announced he will award over $217 million to eligible healthcare facilities as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act ("ARPA"), which was signed into law by Congress on March 11, 2022. Of the $217 million, $47 million of that grant funding (up to $100,000 per facility) will be awarded to licensed assisted living communities and personal care homes with 25 or more beds to help prevent and mitigate the spread and effects of COVID-19.1 ARPA is the sixth COVID-19 relief bill enacted and provides approximately $1.9 trillion in assistance, with $17.4 billion going to Georgia (the "Funding").

COVID-19 Prevention and Mitigation Assisted Living Communities and Personal Care Homes Grant Program

The grant program will be available through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provided in the ARPA legislation and will allow reimbursements for expenses incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 1, 2022. Assisted Living Communities and Personal Care Homes with 25 beds or more licensed by the Georgia Department of Community Health ("DCH") are eligible to apply.

Reimbursement requests for expenses are limited to those resulting from compliance with Section 4.0 Testing Requirements and Guidance or Section 6.0 Considerations for Assisted Living Communities and Personal Care Homes of the Long-Term Care Facilities Administrative Order (last updated October 6, 2021) issued by the Georgia Department of Public Health.2 Examples of eligible expenses include:

  • antigen, PCR, and serology tests;
  • mandatory baseline testing for residents and direct care staff;
  • purchases of personal protective equipment;
  • support for isolation or quarantine; and
  • ventilation improvements.

As a condition of receiving the grant funding, the facilities will need to provide documentation to support the expense reimbursement request and certify the expenses were necessary for the prevention or mitigation of COVID-19 in their facility. In addition, the facility must certify the grant proceeds will not be used to reimburse expenses that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse.

In preparation for the grant process, facilities should visit the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget ("OPB") website for the next steps.3 4 Providers for each community must register for a Unique Entity ID (generated by SAM.gov and also referred to as the SAM Number) and complete a Terms and Conditions Agreement for this grant program to begin submitting reimbursement requests. Community points of contact should have received a Terms and Conditions email the week of March 14, 2022 from echosign@echosign.com. This email contained an agreement requiring the signature of an authorized official to accept the conditions of the award. A list of eligible assisted living communities and personal care homes with over 25 beds and their primary contact is available for review on the OPB's website.

Footnotes

1. Gov. Kemp Awards More Than $217M to Eligible Healthcare Facilities for COVID-19 Efforts Announcement available at https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2022-03-11/gov-kemp-awards-more-217m-eligible-healthcare-facilities-covid-19-efforts (last accessed April 28, 2022).

2. Georgia Department of Public Health Long-Term Care Facilities Administrative Order (last updated October 6, 2021) available at https://dph.georgia.gov/administrative-orders (last accessed April 28, 2022).

3. OPB COVID-19 Prevention and Mitigation ALC/PCH 25+ Grant webpage available at https://opb.georgia.gov/covid-19-prevention-and-mitigation-assisted-living-communities-and-personal-care-homes-25-beds (last accessed April 28, 2022).

4. On March 17 & 23 of 2022, OPB partnered with the Georgia Senior Living Association to share an informational webinar in preparation for grant applications for the ARPA COVID-19 Prevention & Mitigation Assisted Living Communities and Personal Care Homes with 25 beds+ Grant (ALC/PCH 25+). This webinar and the corresponding presentation materials can be viewed at https://www.gasla.org/covid-19-mitigation-alcpch-25-grant.html (last accessed April 28, 2022).

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