Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced Tuesday that she is going to spend $18.27 million of federal relief money on coronavirus testing for employees and residents of nursing home facilities in the state.

Ivey said in a statement that some of Alabama’s harshest COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred “within nursing homes and we must do everything possible to contain the spread within their walls.”

The money directed towards nursing homes on Tuesday comes from the $1.9 billion in money the state received as part of the CARES Act stimulus bill passed by Congress with the intention of mitigating the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The nursing home testing money will be given to and then disbursed to individual facilities by the Alabama Nursing Home Association Education Foundation, a non-profit offshoot of the Alabama Nursing Home Association (ANHA).

Ivey’s office promises the foundation “will administer the funds fairly and impartially on behalf of the people of Alabama, for all of Alabama’s nursing facilities.”

Estimates from the Center for Medicaid Services estimates that 336 Alabamians in nursing homes have died from COVID-19 as of June 21.

BamaTracker, a coronavirus information database tracking cases in Alabama, says the state has suffered 1,007 coronavirus deaths as of July 7, meaning nursing home residents could make up a third or more of Alabama’s fatalities.

“I am extremely grateful to Governor Kay Ivey and her administration for supporting the ongoing testing of residents and staff in our facilities,” said Brandon Farmer, president and CEO of the Alabama Nursing Home Association, in a statement.

“During the pandemic, it is critical we take care of our seniors and most vulnerable residents,” Ivey added.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95