Corps evaluates local sites
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has evaluated sites in Hot Springs for suitability as temporary hospitals, a spokesman for the military’s construction management agency said Thursday.
The Hot Springs Convention Center, former Army and Navy General Hospital on the campus of the Arkansas Career Development Center and the annex building at the old St. Joseph’s Hospital complex were evaluated as alternate care sites, or buildings that could be quickly converted into temporary hospitals.
“We’re really looking if the governor chooses a location, how fast we can get some beds in there and get it up and running, because the need will be immediate if those sites are deemed necessary,” Jay
Townsend, spokesman for the USACE’s Little Rock District, said, noting that the Corps is working on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and at the direction of the state.
“The state of Arkansas is taking a real proactive approach to this and just calling in our technical expertise. We’re proud as can be to be able to assist the state in this time.”
Townsend said evaluators are looking for large buildings with electricity and telecommunications connectivity.
“Our technical engineers are the ones doing those inspections, and then we have architects also looking at it to see structurally if we need to make any modifications to those locations,” he said.
The Arkansas Department of Health has said the sites would house noncritical patients, allowing acute care hospitals to focus on COVID-19 patients with critical needs. It said Thursday that the state will have a plan for building out temporary hospital capacity prepared by next week.
City Manager Bill Burrough said Thursday that the three local buildings were evaluated for planning purposes. Being on the list submitted to the governor’s office doesn’t guarantee they will be converted into temporary hospitals, he said.
“The key to an emergent situation is proper planning and preparation,” he said. “I think they’re just planning ahead should they need it. They’re doing that in all of the counties that have large populations.”
Between one and four of the 37 positive cases reported in Garland County have been hospitalized, the department said Thursday. Four or fewer of the county’s positive cases have recovered from the disease, the department said, noting that it doesn’t provide exact per-county numbers on recoveries or hospitalizations until they reach five or more.
The Health Department reported 152 county residents had tested negative as of Thursday. The total number of pending tests for county residents was unavailable, as the department said it only tracks pending tests submitted to its lab and not tests pending at commercial labs.
The county represents about 3% of the state’s population and almost 6% of the 643 positive cases reported statewide as of Thursday.