Charles County hospital gets grant for emergency generators
Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5) and U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Ben Cardin (both D-MD) announced a $1,987,432.00 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) program to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata, Maryland to fund the replacement of three undersized emergency generators and automatic transfer switches at the medical center to ensure critical services are supported during power outages. The grant will allow the installation of three new 1000KVA generators, a computerized emergency power bus, and new automatic transfer switches to assure that hospital-wide power and air condition requirements are met when utility power fails.
“This funding will provide the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center with the proper equipment and resources needed to be prepared for future natural disasters,” stated Congressman Hoyer. “Following Hurricane Sandy, the hospital recognized a need to have a plan in place to act quickly when there is a power failure. In the event of an emergency, these backup generators will now enable the hospital to remain open and help to keep patients and staff safe.”
“These funds in the federal checkbook will ensure that when disaster strikes, the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center has the power it needs to keep its doors open during disasters, making sure the people of La Plata get medical care when they need it,” said Senator Barbara Mikulski, Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee which funds FEMA.
“Hurricane Sandy showed us the importance of keeping our hospitals operating at their best, even during the worst of emergencies,” said Senator Ben Cardin. “This FEMA grant will keep the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center online during a power outage, and provide confidence for Marylanders in and around Charles County that public health and safety will not be compromised during such a crisis.”