WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A field hospital inside the DCU Center in Worcester will begin taking patients this weekend as new COVID-19 hospitalizations in Massachusetts continue to climb at a concerning rate, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday.
The 240-bed hospital will open its doors on Sunday in an effort to help fight off the second surge of coronavirus. UMass Memorial Health Care workers will staff the 24/7 facility.
The facility will have “a lot more capacity” than it did when it was active in the spring, Baker said during a news conference following a tour of the hospital.
This comes after the Massachusetts Nurses Association said their members are still exhausted and traumatized from the first surge.
“Field hospitals play a critical role in our preparedness strategy that helps us alleviate pressure on the health care system generally and enables hospitals to focus on non-COVID patients,” Baker said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said the field hospital is looking to hire advanced practitioners, certified nurse assistants, medical interpreters, observation assistants, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, physicians, registered nurses, registration representatives, respiratory therapists, radiology technologists, and social workers.
Coronavirus-related hospitalizations have been growing at a rate of 2-3 percent each day for the past couple of weeks, Baker noted.
On Wednesday, state health officials reported 1,259 hospitalizations, including 264 COVID patients in the ICU, in addition to more than 4,600 new cases, 46 deaths, and a 4.94 percent seven-day positivity rate.
Baker also said that a second field hospital will be built in Lowell in the coming weeks.
Sudders added that a third field hospital is anticipated in the New Bedford area.
“We’re having conversations in the southeast as to whether we should plan for one down in the south coast area, southeast area,” she said. “We’re not at this point in time planning on one in Boston.”
Despite the recent surge in cases, Baker said earlier this week that the state is not planning to roll out any additional closures or restrictions at this time.
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