May 19, 2020 | BY Michael Glasch
In the three and a half months since the first COVID-19 case
was diagnosed in the United States, Montana continues to have the second-lowest
number of total cases and the lowest number of cases per capita of any state in
the country. Those low numbers did not stop the state's leaders from enlisting
the Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District to prepare for the future fight
against the virus.
On April 17, Montana requested the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to task the Army Corps of Engineers with building an
alternate care facility in Kalispell, located in the northwest corner of the
state.
"As Montana begins the process of reopening, we remain
vulnerable to a potential spike in cases," said Army Maj. Gen. Matthew
Quinn, the adjutant general for Montana and leader of the Montana Coronavirus
Task Force. "The extra capability this facility will provide to hospitals
throughout the region is critical to ensuring the continued safety of our
population. We must make sure that we take every step now to prepare for a
potential second wave later in the year."
The alternate care facility is being built on the vacant,
undeveloped, third floor of Montana Children's, the new pediatric facility at
the Kalispell Regional Medical Center. The facility signed the lease May 4,
which allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the $2,643,703.12 contract
the following day.
"After the award is given, the contractor has 21 days
to mobilize to the area, and to complete the entire build out of the alternate
care facility," said Ryan Field, the Kalispell alternate care facility
project manager withUSACE-Omaha. "That in and of itself is unique."
Work on the project began May 11. Within four days, what was
once a 26,250-square-foot empty shell was transformed into a recognizable
framework of patient care spaces that could be used in the fight against the
pandemic. When completed, it will have 98 patient care rooms, seven nurse's
stations, four restrooms, three pharmacies and a medical supply storage room.
"It's an expansive, open space," Field explained.
"Some of the biggest challenges so far have been that one, there are no
utilities here. The utilities stop at least one floor below us, so we have to
pipe utilities up to the third floor. A second challenge has been getting
materials to the third floor without the use of elevators. The elevators the
hospital has don't have the load capacity we need. We have to take out windows
and bring everything in through the windows from the parking lot below."
Each day more than 50 contractors work 12-hour days to lay
framework, hang sheetrock and install the electrical and plumbing utilities. It
is a project that many hope will never have to be used.
"The Omaha District is leveraging our extensive
construction capability and expertise to build the additional bed space
capacity in support of the request by the state of Montana and FEMA," said
Army Col. John Hudson, the commander of
the Omaha District. "Ultimately, we hope these additional bed
spaces will not be needed. But, if they are, the spaces will be ready and
available to support the greater Kalispell community."
That is a sentiment Field echoes.
"There's a personal touch with this project," he said.
"It's different if you're working on a levee or a dam or a tornado and you
know where the danger is, you know where the hazard is, you know where the
impact is. You don't know where this is. So, you know, it is a great project to
be on — knowing that you hope it is never used, but knowing that if it is used,
that you help the people in this region."
The facility is scheduled to be completed before the end of
May. When the pandemic ends, the state of Montana will remove the patient pods
and equipment and store them at a state facility for possible future acute care
facility needs.
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