National guard setting up 80-bed medical station to treat COVID-19 patients

IMPERIAL Calif. (KYMA, KECY), A temporary medical station to help treat COVID-19 patients is underway in Imperial County. 

With help from California, the county has identified a location in the city of Imperial. 

In as little as a week Imperial Valley College’s empty gymnasium will be converted into an 80 bed federal medical station to help treat local coronavirus patients. 

With our county’s hospitals being overwhelmed this week with a surge in COVID-19 patients the medical station couldn't come at a better time. 

“They compare it to a field hospital. It's not a hospital it’s a federal medical station. It will only take patients that are transferred from another facility, it will not take walk-in patients,” said Chris Herring, Imperial County Emergency Medical Services manager 

The medical station will be accepting COVID-19 patients with mild conditions from our local hospitals.

Herring says this will help make room at hospitals for patients in critical condition. 

“It’s for low acuity patients. So generally these are patients that are almost ready for hospital discharge. They may need some physical therapy. So think like a skilled nursing facility type of care for a period of a few weeks until they are able to go home,” said Herring. 

“Staffing for this facility is gonna be a combination of California National Guard staff as well as it’s called the California Medical Assistance Team or CALMAT which are both state-run programs,” said Herring. 

Medical supplies for the medical station is expected to start arriving Friday and it should be up and running in about a week.