Jackson County to spend another $4 million for coronavirus testing and equipment
Jackson County will spend another $4 million to boost the budgets of health and public safety agencies on the front line in the fight against COVID-19.
The spending plan approved Monday comes a week after county legislators voted in favor of a $4.5 million aid package, all but $200,000 of which went to Truman Medical Centers for testing and other expenses incurred by the publicly-funded hospital.
Truman’s hospitals in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit are once again the main beneficiaries of the new funding. The legislature directed that $1 million go to the hospital and/or the county health department for testing kits and personal protective equipment for health care workers. Another $2 million is designated for the cost of housing people who need to be quarantined away from others but have no ability to do that without assistance.
Of the remaining $1 million, $300,000 would go to pay for coronavirus testing of detainees and corrections staff within the Jackson County Detention Center, as well as personal protection equipment for the employees.
Of the remainder, $500,000 would go to buy personal protective equipment for the sheriff’s deputies and municipal public safety workers, and $200,000 would pay for protective equipment, supplies and other COVID-19 related costs at the medical examiner’s office.
The two appropriations largely mirror the elements of the $10 million funding package County Executive Frank White proposed two weeks ago. Some legislators were concerned that White’s plan did not clearly identify where the money would come from to pay for it all.
Legislators crafted plans that showed which pots the money would come from, but as with White’s plan anticipate that the federal government will reimburse the county’s taxpayers for most of the money.
One part of White’s plan the legislature has yet to fund: food assistance.
White has proposed spending $1.5 million to deliver meals to people who have contracted the new coronavirus and are unable leave their homes because they are contagious.
Not only would that be a service to sick people, but White also said it would be an economic boost for unemployed food service workers, who would prepare and deliver the meals, as well as restaurants hurt by the area shutdown.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 1:39 PM.
