It wasn’t too long ago we were marveling at China’s capacity to build massive hospitals in just a few weeks to treat their exploding number of coronavirus patents. Now, finally recognizing the severity of the problem, the U.S. is taking similar steps, from hospital ships being deployed to New York harbor to repurposing hotels to treat patients to building our own emergency pandemic hospitals.
In Shoreline, Wash., a northern suburb of Seattle, a soccer field is being repurposed as the site of a 200-bed coronavirus field hospital, according to KOMO. The field hospital, part of King County’s efforts to add more than 3,000 beds to combat the coronavirus pandemic, will treat coronavirus patients “exposed to, at risk of exposure, or becoming ill with the novel coronavirus.”
The goal of the hospital is to save beds in the actual hospitals for acutely ill patients. The county will need to obtain a Temporary Use Permit from the city of Shoreline once the hospital is operational, as well as prove it can meet benchmarks for security, waste disposal, and other areas.
This post was submitted by Greg Zimmerman, executive editor, Building Operating Management and FacilitiesNet.com.
