County Nursing Home Infrastructure Program FAQs

Only County-owned nursing facilities in the State of New Hampshire are eligible for this program.

Note: Once a County has submitted an application and notice of an award for that application has been sent by GOFERR, no future applications regarding the facility in the application will be considered.

Awards are subject to approval by the Governor and Executive Council.

The project or expenses must be for facility improvements or expansion designed to:

• Mitigate and prevent the spread of future COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing home facilities,
• Ensure facilities are safe for residents and their families, and
• Help fund facility improvements.

Some examples of eligible expenditures for existing facilities include:

• Funding capital improvements,
• Building remodeling and construction,
• HVAC improvements, and
• Renovations to help update and modernize outdated capital equipment, facilities, and buildings.

Note: Operational costs are not eligible, and U.S. Treasury defines capital expenditure in 2 CFR 200.13 and capital asset in 2 CFR 200.12, which GOFERR will use as guidance in determining eligible expenditures.

Awards can be issued for eligible projects that are already completed, ongoing, or new for costs incurred after March 3, 2021. Projects must be completed by September 30, 2024, with the potential for limited exceptions.

 

Federal regulations indicate a strong preference for improvements to existing facilities of this type.

As a result, the focus of this program is for projects or expenses for improvement to an existing facility or facilities.

However, constructing a wholly new building or facility may be eligible in some circumstances but will require further justification. See Question #10 for additional information.

 

Awards, in the form of forgivable loans, will be issued for up to 40% of the cost of eligible projects or expenses, subject to a match of at least 60% by the County.

For example, with the match, a County could receive an award of up to $6,000,000 for eligible expenses on a $15,000,000 project.

Disbursement of funds under the forgivable loan on eligible expenses will be made either on a reimbursement basis or as part of a drawdown schedule, depending on the size and nature of the project.

Reminder: Once a County has submitted an application and notice of an award for that application has been sent by GOFERR, no future applications regarding the facility in the application will be considered.

Note: After award notices are issued in this program, they will be subject to approval by the Governor and Executive Council.

Generally, receipt of other COVID-19 relief will not deem you ineligible to apply to this program.  

However, if your County and/or facility has received other aid for the same costs for which you are seeking an award in this program, your application will be denied, award reduced, or that portion of the awarded loan not forgiven.

To apply for this program, please visit the program page on GOFERR’s website by clicking here. That page will contain important program details, links to application materials, and instructions on how to submit your application.

You will need the contact and financial information relevant to your County’s application, as well as information on the proposed, existing, or completed project(s).  

You will also be asked to attach to the application documentation on the proposed facility improvement(s). See below for more information on required documentation.

If you are applying for improvements to more than one facility in a County, you will need to complete an application for each facility.

If you are submitting an application on behalf of a County for a particular facility or facilities, you will be asked to provide proof of authorization by that County prior to any award being submitted for authorization by the Governor & Executive Council. Such proof could come in the form of email confirmation by the County Administrator or County Commissioners.

If you require assistance submitting an application, please contact GOFERR at info@goferr.nh.gov.

Yes. You will need to submit an application for each eligible facility.

This program will have up to two funding rounds, with Round 1 being competitive and Round 2 being noncompetitive and contingent upon remaining funding.

For Round 1, review of applications will begin with those received by September 9, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. Applications must be complete, with supporting documentation, and timely submitted to be considered as part of the first round. Not all eligible applications in Round 1 may receive funding. As a result, if funding remains, a second round will be facilitated.

Round 1 is intended for applications that will result in a minimum award of $5 million, for projects that may need a longer construction window to reach completion within ARPA deadlines, may be further along in project development, or the identified needs being addressed are more pressing or life threatening.

For example, some of the criteria that may be used in assessing applications submitted for consideration in Round 1 include:

• Current conditions of the facility.
• Demonstrated need in the County and/or facility, such as the availability of other resources, life safety factors, and deficiencies in recent state or federal inspections/code violations.
• Readiness of the project.
• Proportional response of the project to the strain on the services provided or issues identified at the facility.

GOFERR will solicit applications for Round 2, with the application period scheduled for October 18, 2022 - November 1, 2022. Completed applications must be received by 4:00 PM.

Round 2 will be noncompetitive, intended for applications resulting in a minimum award of $1 million, and focused on projects still in the early stages of development, in need of more time to prepare and submit an application, and for Counties that need additional time to assess needs. If eligible awards exceed available funds, grants would be issued on a pro rata basis in the second round, subject to a cap.

GOFERR recommends submitting completed applications promptly, as they may require follow up and additional documentation or information.

Reminder: Once a County has submitted an application and notice of an award for that application has been sent by GOFERR, no future applications regarding the facility in the application will be considered.

After review of an application and approval of a project and award, GOFERR will work with eligible recipients and projects to coordinate next steps and assess any state or federal requirements that would apply to the project.

After an award notice is issued, the County will enter into an agreement with GOFERR in the form of a forgivable loan. That forgivable loan will be subject to and contingent upon Governor and Executive Council approval at a scheduled meeting.

Generally, the terms of the forgivable loan will provide principal funds for approved expenditures, at a 0% interest rate, and require the project to be completed by a set date and meet certain project and reporting requirements. Disbursement of funds under the forgivable loan on eligible expenses will be made either on a reimbursement basis or as part of a drawdown schedule, depending on the size and nature of the project.

Upon completion and satisfaction of the terms of the agreement, the loan will be forgiven. If the project is not completed or the agreement is otherwise violated, the County may be required to pay back the entirety of the loan.  

Projects must be completed, and all ARPA SFRF funds used on the project expended, by September 30, 2024. In very limited circumstances, and on a project-by-project basis, GOFERR may have the ability to extend the deadline for completion.
 
Reminder: The maximum award that can be received on any application is up to 40% of the eligible project costs. If the eligible requests received in a second round exceed the funds available, program awards will be made on a pro rata basis, subject to a cap.

If the eligible requests received in a second round exceed the funds available, program awards will be made on a pro rata basis.

Yes. In addition to the information and data required within the application, the Documentation section of the application requires providing copies of the following documents, where applicable:

• Document of State Licensure
• Documentation Supporting the Amount Claimed for Project Costs (Incurred and Estimated)
• Justification Analysis Required for Projects Over $1 million (See Below)
• Justification Analysis Required for Projects Involving New Facilities (See Below)
• Separate Questions/Prompt Response Supporting Document

You may also provide any additional documentation that you think will support your application. Moreover, GOFERR may require additional documentation as part of its application review.

Analysis for Projects with Costs of $1 Million or More: In addition to other application materials, a written justification for capital projects or expenditures with a total cost of $1 million or more must be provided and include:

• Comparison of the proposed capital project against at least two alternative types or sizes of capital expenditures that are potentially effective and reasonably feasible, and demonstration of why the proposed capital project is superior.
• Comparison of the proposal against the alternative of improving other existing capital assets already owned or leasing other capital assets, if applicable.
• To the extent possible, provide relevant data when making comparisons, and if data is not available, please explain why.  
• Important considerations:
  • The effectiveness of the capital expenditure in addressing the harm identified and the expected total cost (including pre-development costs) against at least the two alternative capital expenditures identified.
  • How the proposed capital project is a proportional response to the need you wish to address.

New Facility Analysis: If the capital project for which you are seeking expense reimbursement involves a new facility, additional details are needed. Please complete the below analysis and submit it as a separate document in conjunction with your application.

The federal government has stated that new congregate facilities are presumed ineligible. That presumption may be overcome by providing a written justification for a new congregate facility, as opposed to rehabilitation or remodeling of an existing facility. In order for a new facility to be considered, the applicant must provide the following in addition to other application materials:

• Explanation as to why the proposed new facility is a better and more suitable alternative to improving an existing facility already owned or leased.
  • Such an explanation should include how construction of the proposed new facility is a proportional response to the need you wish to address.

Note: This documentation and portions of the application that relate to explanation and justification for the project may be required to be provided to U.S. Treasury as part of federal reporting.

You should not submit your application until you are certain it is complete, and you have the correct and necessary supporting documents. GOFERR may, but is not required to, request clarification if information provided is incomplete or missing.   

If you have not received notice of an award, you may file a corrected application if you become aware of an error and the application deadline has not passed.  Please notify GOFERR immediately if a second application is filed, as the original application may already be under review. The corrected application must contain all of the information that you want considered, even if it was otherwise correct in your earlier application, as GOFERR will not look to an earlier filed application for missing information.

Regardless of notice from an applicant of intent to file a corrected or replacement application, GOFERR will assume that the application filed last in time is the most complete and will only process the last in time application (up until notice of an award/decision is sent by GOFERR).  

GOFERR will not add documents to a submitted application or change answers that you have already submitted.

Reminder: Once a County has submitted an application and notice of an award for that application has been sent by GOFERR, no future applications regarding the facility in the application will be considered.

After award notices are issued in this program, the award and forgivable loan agreement will be subject to approval by the Governor and Executive Council.

Appeals are permitted under the circumstances described below, and any appeals must be submitted within 15 business days of receiving a notice of award or denial.  

• Contesting ineligibility:
  • Provide an explanation and evidence to substantiate your claim about why your facility is actually eligible for the program.
• Award determinations:
  • Provide an explanation and evidence supporting that the calculation of the award, based on the information submitted in the application, was in error.
• Application submission errors:
  • Only obvious typographical errors can be corrected, such as misplacing a decimal point or transposing digits.

Appeal requests and relevant evidence must be submitted in writing electronically to Appeals@goferr.nh.gov within 15 business days of the date a notice of award or denial was sent by GOFERR.  

The appeal will be determined based on the written submission and documents in GOFERR’s possession. No hearing will be held.

Applicants will receive a notice of the determination on the appeal. No further appeal is allowed.

 

For questions concerning the application, please contact info@goferr.nh.gov.

No. You may attach as many documents as are needed to support your application, but GOFERR recommends combining documents and using a PDF format to reduce the potential for errors or formatting issues.

If you for some reason encounter any issues, please contact info@goferr.nh.gov.

Yes. If a County, entity, or facility does not want this information to be made public, it should not submit a completed application.

Note: If the total cost of a project submitted for even partial funding under this program is $10 million or more, the written justifications and portions of the application may be required to be provided to U.S. Treasury as part of federal reporting requirements.

U.S. Treasury may make all or part of any such report available to the public.