Alternative care facilities are prepared for COVID-19 patients

REACTION TO POTENTIAL CASES SURGE

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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The Colorado state Unified Command Center (UCC) has developed a statewide plan to manage an expected surge in demand for intensive care unit (ICU) and acute care treatment for COVID-19 patients. As part of that plan, the UCC has worked with the Colorado Hospital Association, local communities and the US Army Corps of Engineers to select and prepare alternative care sites throughout the State that can be repurposed to provide medical care for patients who have stabilized in-hospital and no longer require critical care. Alternative care sites serve as medical shelters and are not field hospitals.

The state and its local government partners have completed leases on two large-scale facilities to serve as alternative care sites. These are The Colorado Convention Center in Denver, and The Ranch – Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex in Loveland. The Army Corps of Engineers will begin construction Friday to retrofit them to serve as Tier 3 medical shelters. The UCC also plans to finalize leases with three other alternative care sites by mid-April and is working to secure additional facilities.

How does the medical surge system work?

The alternative care sites will only accept patients who are being transferred from hospitals and health care facilities. The sites will not be open for members of the public seeking medical care or diagnosis. Individuals showing signs of illness should seek guidance by calling their primary care physician, a nurse care line or community health center. If an individual is having difficulty breathing, and they suspect COVID-19, they should seek urgent care at a hospital-based emergency department. Triage will determine which care setting is appropriate.

Patients with critical needs are admitted into a critical care setting (ICU or medical nursing unit) – this is considered Tier 1 care. As patients within a hospital recover, they may be transferred by a fleet of state-managed ambulances to an ambulatory surgical center, free-standing emergency department, or critical access hospital — all which can provide acute care to COVID-19 patients whose needs fall below critical care. This is considered Tier 2 care. A state dispatch center will manage these patient transfers among facilities.