Congressman Jason Smith announced on May 3 that Missouri hospitals will receive $280 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance grants to cover increased costs from the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding includes about $2 million for Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston and roughly $3.5 million for Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau.
The grants aim to help hospitals recover financially after taking on additional expenses during the pandemic, especially those serving rural communities. Smith said, “Missouri hospitals stepped up during COVID-19 and took on enormous costs to keep their communities safe and healthy. Requests for this public assistance were slow-walked under the Biden Administration, but the Trump Administration and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin delivered for Missouri hospitals and those who depend on them. Missouri Delta Medical Center and Southeast Hospital are lifelines for rural communities across Southeast Missouri, and this funding will provide meaningful relief to offset the increased costs they absorbed. I’m proud to see this relief finally reach the hands of the hospitals that earned it.”
Missouri Delta Medical Center is a critical access point for health care in the Bootheel region, which has some of the highest rates of chronic disease in Missouri. Southeast Hospital is noted as being the largest hospital in its region, providing essential care throughout Southeast and South Central Missouri.
Smith is currently serving as U.S. Representative for Missouri’s 8th district after replacing Jo Ann Emerson in 2013 according to his biography. He has served continuously since then as reported by official records.
Smith was born in St Louis, Missouri, in 1980 and currently lives in Salem according to congressional biographical data. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2001 before earning a Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University three years later according to Vote Smart.
