ECMC lands $14.6 million in federal relief to help cover Covid-19 response costs

ECMC will receive more than $14.6 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, funds meant to reimburse the Buffalo health care provider for costs incurred from emergency protective measures and increased staffing as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced Thursday.

Schumer’s office said the funds should provide ECMC with “the resources it needs to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic, cover rising costs and continue to keep Western New York safe.” 

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, Erie County Medical Center doctors, nurses and staff worked around the clock to provide lifesaving care to patients, but like so many of our hospitals in Western New York, they suffered extreme revenue losses due to rising pandemic-related costs,” Schumer said.

The funding will “help reimburse ECMC’s expenses and ensure that it has the resources it needs, and deserves, to boost its incredible workforce, serve its patients and ensure they can continue to provide lifesaving care to Buffalo and Western New York,” he added.

Schumer’s office noted the funding is provided at a 100% federal cost share. 

ECMC, like other hospitals across Western New York, the state and the country, was battered financially during the pandemic, a hit that still lingers four years after Covid-19 arrived. 

ECMC spokesperson Peter Cutler said the corporation’s audit of 2023 is still ongoing, so he can’t provide any financial information until that is completed next month. 

According to its most recent annual report, ECMC recorded an operating loss of $71 million in 2022 and nearly $25 million in 2021. The corporation employs about 3,900 people.