May 20, 2020 Author: Angela Hoenig, Clinical Simulation Sales Manager
CARES ACT? Is this the solution to our future?
I find myself looking at the world with a new set of eyes. Realizing as each day passes, the course we had traveled will be changed forever. All the freedom we once experienced, is now limited to phone calls and virtual meeting. How long will this last? Will the educational setting ever be the same? What lessons have we learned? How do we address the needs of staffing for the future?
Healthcare Simulation Programs in the United States can immediately apply for funds from the CARES Act to support their educational, training, and patient safety initiatives during the COVID-19 global pandemic. CARES stands for “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security” and it will provide more than $2 trillion in economic relief including medical education and training equipment and learning tools.
With the Institution of Higher Education closed and classes going virtual, we have been tasked with creating an environment of learning that has not been proven. As we all sit in our homes, tele-educating, tele-working, and tele-learning, our fellow healthcare professionals are in hospitals understaffed in mandatory PPE.
Can the CARES Act funding fix everything? 30 billion dollars provided K-12 and Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), 50% of that funding is mandated for students affected by institutional shutdown.
Here is the breakdown:
- ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) 14 Billion
- GEER (Governor’s Educational Emergency Relief Fund) 2.9 Billion
- Available to both Elementary and IHE on a needs-based analysis
- HEER (Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund) 12.6 Billion
- Funds available based in Institutional portion, minority schools, and post-secondary education.
In all cases, after the mandated funds are allocated, the remaining granted funds need to be applied for by September 30, 2020. After reading many articles and doing hours of research IHEs may invest in distance learning technology and the associated costs for implementing new technologies. In this case you will want to look for the HEER FIPSE grant. They project about 15 million dollars will be available.
For the EMS side of patient care, grants are available through FEMA. 100 million dollars is available with Emergency Management Performance Grant Program (that does not state the exclusion of training equipment).
Fingers crossed for all that apply!
Angela Hoenig, Clinical Simulation Sales Manager
