As you might imagine, public opinion is mixed about how much money is being spent on a field hospital that’s never been used. Once open, the Colorado Convention Center will have about 600 beds and The Ranch will have 195, Cahill said. At UCHealth, director of infection prevention Dr. Michelle Barron explains this winter could be unpredictable. Standing in the cavernous Colorado Convention Center that normally hosts enormous trade shows and sci-fi conventions, Gov. DENVER (AP) — Emergency management officials have decided to decommission a temporary medical facility set up at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, saying the state's hospital … “I say we save money. The temporary facilities, sometimes called field hospitals, have been set up in the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver, as well as in Pueblo and the Denver suburb of Westminster. Over at the Medical Center of Aurora, chief medical officer Dr. Philip Stahel does not see a scenario where they would need the convention center. The convention center has been on the short list of possible makeshift hospital locations as the number of coronavirus cases in Colorado has grown exponentially. The opening dates for the temporary hospital facilities in Denver and Loveland are being pushed back again. “If we were to ever need it, it would have been worth every penny. Back at the EOC, Willis points out FEMA is footing the bill for about 75% of the convention center costs. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses downtown are struggling to survive while the Colorado Convention Center seems to be buffered from the chaos and gloomy economic outlook. The Convention Center was prepared to handle an … “We have healed many patients with one single unit of convalescent plasma and they ended up leaving the hospital when they were on the verge of death,” he said. That’s roughly $1.8 million a month for empty beds. Editor's Note: Denver7 360 stories explore multiple sides of the topics that matter most to Coloradans, bringing in different perspectives so you can make up your own mind about the issues. Some were worried about what the decision would damage the center’s image. The care center was constructed in the event that hospital beds would reach capacity and COVID-19 patients needed somewhere else to recover. “There is the risk that we have a number of flu hospitalizations and then COVID-19 surges and then our hospital capacity will be diminished,” Barron said. The event space in downtown Denver will be handed back to the city by March 25, about 11 months after the state transformed it into an … Why spend the money on leasing the space if it’s never been utilized?” said another. “It’s what I call the state’s insurance policy for our health care system,” said Mike Willis, director of the Colorado Emergency Operations Center. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun) A similar field hospital is being constructed at The Ranch at the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex. “You’re quite right,” Willis said. When the coronavirus crisis started last spring, cases in Colorado did spike. DENVER — The state’s emergency management team has begun to deconstruct the field hospital at the Colorado Convention Center. “Preparation continues related to standing up an alternative care facility at the Colorado Convention Center … The City of Denver's lease of the Colorado Convention Center for COVID-19 care during the coronavirus pandemic was set to expire in two days. Colorado Convention Center. Temporary coronavirus hospital at Colorado Convention Center delayed, downsized amid diminishing need The facility was previously targeted to open Saturday with up to … At that time, the state started building an overflow care center in the Colorado Convention Center. DENVER — The state’s emergency management team has begun to deconstruct the field hospital at the Colorado Convention Center. Seems to me that a problem foreseen is a problem avoided. RELATED: Drive-up vaccinations run more smoothly for National Jewish Health's second mass vaccination effort for people 70 and older, RELATED: State will help speed up long-term care facility vaccinations, RELATED: Colorado stops using Curative COVID testing due to accuracy concerns, SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark. Colorado is preparing for a steep increase in COVID-19 cases over the next few weeks, and part of that preparation includes field hospitals being constructed. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Colorado Convention Center May Not be Needed by the Time it's Ready for COVID-19 Patients [Video] “I think that they need to leave it open because there’s too many people still not wearing masks,” said one Denver resident. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin converting the convention center into a Tier-3 hospital once the lease is signed, which could be as early as Monday. Jared Polis converted the center to an emergency hospital last April to the tune of $20 million. It’s now fluctuating between five and ten patients, but Stahel says treatment has even lessened the severity of COVID-19. If you have to tear them out and put them back in it’s going to cost even more.”. The convention center will serve as one Alternative Care Facility, which if needed, can be used to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. “Indoor, flu – everything like that. “It’s never been used to this day.”. RELATED: Denver preparing to use Colorado Convention Center as a hospital. Jared Polis speaks to the news media at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center on Friday, April 10, 2020, where the state is … The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) announced this week that it will decommission a temporary hospital at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. In about a 72-hour span, Colorado will have done contract and design work on this massive project. “Just two weeks ago, for the very first time in six months, we had zero COVID patients,” Stahel said. Jared Polis on Friday explained how the building in the heart of Denver will soon become a temporary hospital with up to 2,000 beds for new coronavirus patients, as the state readies for potential surge in the coming weeks. Willis says the 250 empty beds inside the Colorado Convention Center are the equivalent of having home, auto or health care insurance. Two others with smaller patient capacities, in Pueblo and Westminster, will remain operational. 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