On March 16, 2022, the Office of State Fire Commissioner (OSFC) opened the certification portal for the Act 10 of 2022 EMS Recovery Grant Program. Eligible agencies for the grant are EMS agencies duly licensed by the Commonwealth, including their individual licensee affiliates as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. This includes agencies that are identified as the primary 911 responder or serve as interfacility transport agencies. Agencies that solely provide quick response service (QRS) are not eligible for grant funding pursuant to criteria set forth in Act 10 of 2022.
Notification of the grant funding opportunity is being sent via United States mail and electronic mail to all eligible EMS agencies. In addition, the list of all eligible EMS agencies and FAQs will be posted to https://www.osfc.pa.gov/GrantsandLoans/Pages/EMS-COVID19-Recovery-Grant-Program.aspx together with the notification of grant funding.
Eligible EMS agencies will have until Sunday, April 10, 2022 to complete their certification. It is important to note that some items required for the grant, like an active SAMS registration, can take up to three weeks for processing so it is very important that agencies start the certification process as soon as possible to be included in the grant. The OSFC website with the attached information as well as detailed portal instructions are located here .
Please note that OSFC will not be able to accept any late certifications for the grant. Section 7842(d) of Act 10 requires that the funds be divided equally among the number of agencies that return certifications. Upon closing of the certification portal, OSFC will determine the amount each certified EMS agency will receive, grant agreements will issue and funds will be obligated for disbursement by June 30, 2022.
If EMS agencies in your district have any questions, please direct them as follows:
- Eligibility questions should be directed, via email, to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of EMS: paemsoffice@pa.gov.
- Grant administration questions should be directed, via email, to Office of State Fire Commissioner: ra-ememsgrant@pa.gov.
- All questions regarding technical issues with the grant portal can be directed, via email, to the Department of Community and Economic Development: ra-dcedcs@pa.gov, or call the DCED Customer Service Center at: 1-800-379-7448.