CRANSTON, R.I. (WHDH) - Field hospitals in Rhode Island opened for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began as the state deals with a surge of cases.
A 335-bed field hospital in Cranston operated by Care New England received its first patients Monday.
Dr. Laura Forman, who is overseeing this field hospital, said that they had “really hoped we would never ever need to use this.”
Six hundred hospital beds are currently available at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.
The space was converted into a field hospital in the spring and crews were in the process of taking it down when cases began to spike across the state. They put the field hospital back together over the past few weeks.
“We are at a situation with hospital capacity where this site is needed for patient care,” said Cathy Duquette, Lifespan Executive Vice President of Quality and Safety and Chief Nursing Officer.
Lifespan says it has enough people to take care of 100 patients at the Providence field hospital before having to reach out for more help.
Forman says getting staff at the Cranston field hospital has been a challenge.
“We’ve been taking volunteers,” she added. “We’re taking anybody who is capable.”
The goal for both locations is to treat patients who need less care in order to free up space in regular hospitals.
These field hospitals opened as Rhode Island went into a two-week pause to help curb the spread of the virus.
“One of the things that you can do to help us in managing hospitalizations is to follow the governor’s orders and take that pause,” Duquette said.
Certain businesses have been ordered to close, while others must reduce capacity.
A full list of businesses impacted can be found here:
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