COVID-19 Hospital Staffing Assistance Program

Under this program, the state of Tennessee through the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) has allocated Coronavirus Relief Funds to cover increased staffing costs associated with hospital expansions throughout the state for a minimum of 12 floor beds or 6 ICU beds in addition to the hospital’s current staffed capacity. Only hospitals in Tennessee that meet the eligibility requirements outlined below will be eligible to receive funding under the program:

  1. Eligibility will be determined every 14 days for acute care hospitals according to data reported into the Healthcare Resource Tracking System (HRTS), with the last determination being December 22. Eligible hospitals are those that meet the following criteria according to the most recent 7 days:
    • Adult staffed floor bed utilization is 75% or more AND COVID-19 positive patients occupy 10% or more of staffed floor beds;

      OR

    • Adult staffed floor bed utilization is 85% or more AND COVID-19 positive patients occupy 6% or more of staffed floor beds;

      OR

    • Adult ICU staffed bed utilization is 70% or greater AND COVID-19 positive patients occupy 30% or greater of total adult staffed ICU beds.
  2. The hospital meets the requirements in Section a. for any consecutive seven days within each period for which reimbursement is requested;
  3. The hospital is not using the funding in this contract to supplant other federal funding, including HHS and FEMA funding. This requirement is not meant to preclude the hospital from billing any form of insurance for care provided to any patient;
  4. Any expense reimbursed under this contract is not reimbursed under any other program;
  5. If applicable, the hospital first exhausts all funds from the federal Department of Health and Human Services CARES Act Provider Relief Fund ear marked for staffing before invoicing the State for further funding under this contract;
  6. The hospital attests it will not use the funding in this contract to directly recruit staff from other Tennessee hospitals;
  7. The hospital follows all applicable State and federal laws for hiring medical staff; and
  8. The hospital meets all State and federal standards for providing healthcare.

Hospital eligibility will be determined every 14 days on every other Tuesday. TDH staff will examine each of the two weeks prior. If the hospital meets the eligibility requirements for either of those weeks, the hospital and their Regional Health Coalition (RHC) will be notified immediately and allowable expenses will be reimbursed for four weeks (28 days) total, from two weeks prior to eligibility determination through two weeks after eligibility determination. The following table outlines the utilization periods that will be used to determine eligibility and the related eligible cost periods:

Date of TDH Data Pull/RHC Notification of hospital eligibility: ONE of these week periods must meet eligibility criteria: If ONE of the weeks is eligible, hospital can invoice for reimbursable expenses in this period:
September 1, 2020 August 18 – 24 OR
August 25 – 31
August 18 - September 14
September 15, 2020 September 1 – 7 OR
September 8 – 14
September 1 – 28
September 29, 2020 September 15 – 21 OR
September 22 – 28
September 15 – October 12
October 13, 2020 September 29 – October 5 OR
October 6 – 12
September 29 – October 26
October 27, 2020 October 13 – 19 OR
October 20 – 26
October 13 – November 9
November 10, 2020 October 27 – November 2 OR
November 3 – 9
October 27 – November 23
November 24, 2020 November 10 – 16 OR
November 17 – 23
November 10 – December 7
December 8, 2020 November 24 – 30 OR
December 1 – 7
November 24 – December 21
December 22, 2020 December 8 – 14 OR
December 15 – 21
December 8 – 30

Once a hospital has been determined eligible by TDH based on the requirements above, they must provide primary and secondary contact information to Shannon Velasquez (shannon.velasquez@tn.gov). The hospital will be required to complete the Federal Award Identification Worksheet (see appendix B in Program Recipient Guidelines) and email it to support@TNCARESAct.com for access to the TN CAMS system.

Recipients may request funds only on a reimbursement basis. Supporting documentation must be provided to substantiate all funds requested. Additionally, all costs should be accounted for on a four-week basis (28 days) with the last period 22 days and ending on December 30, 2020. Currently, the maximum 4-week grant period cost eligibility per hospital is $259,200.

Please reference the FAQ tab for more information about this program.

Please contact support@tncaresact.com with any questions.