The federal government will reimburse Maine Medical Center $2.17 million for the cost of screening and testing its staff for COVID-19.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it will send the money to the state to forward to Maine Med.

The money will cover the cost of screening and testing Maine Med’s staff between May 2020 and October 2021.

The hospital set up a web-based program to screen employees before they were allowed to enter the facility. Employees who failed the screening portion – 22,267 during that period – then had to get a COVID-19 test.

The grant covers the cost of both Maine Med programs to detect COVID-19 in its workers.

FEMA said it has provided more than $116 million in grants to Maine to reimburse the state for COVID-19 pandemic-related expenses.