Federal medical facility planned for Delaware County

In the wake of more COVID-19-related deaths, Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek announced the establishment of a federal medical station at the former Glen Mills School.

The facility "will help us care for low acuity cases should the need arise," Zidek said and would serve the entire region. The region includes surrounding Pennsylvania counties and parts of southern New Jersey.

A low acuity case, he explained, is someone who would be in the hospital, perhaps recovering from a minor surgery, but the hospital is full of COVID patients.

"The National Guard will be setting this up [Saturday] and the days to come … I hope we don't have to use this. It's my hope that hospitals are able to manage the COVID-19 crisis without the use of this federal medical station but, out of an abundance of caution, we want to make sure we have facilities in place should the need arise," Zidek said.

Tim Boyce, director of the  Delaware County Department of Emergency Services, said the plans to use the school were discussed with representatives from FEMA for more than a week, and that the final inspection of the facilities — conducted by the Army Corp of Engineers, FEMA, PEMA, the Department of Health and "military partners" — was Friday.

He went on to say the facility will be staffed by medical professionals from different hospitals and healthcare institutions. The Hospital Association of Pennsylvania is working out the staffing but, Boyce said, "That staffing will not deplete normal facilities."

The Glen Mills School — a youth detention center for juvenile delinquents located in Thornbury Township — closed in March of 2019 following allegations of abuse and cover-ups.

Boyce said the school facilities are "exactly what the planning team needs" and no additional buildout is needed. He also repeated that the facility is for overflow patients only, "not a place where you would race here in an ambulance."

However, there will be a full range of facilities for pediatrics, bariatric patients, "all dealing with those low acuity patients," he said. But, "As time goes on, it is adaptable to fit other needs, if it were needed."

Boyce, and then Zidek repeated that the station is for non-COVID patients who need care, but the hospitals they were in were overloaded with COVID cases.

"We are not bringing COVID patients into the community," Zidek said. "This facility is here to help hospitals that would otherwise be overflowing."

He said the facility could handle 250-300 patients.

As of a press release issued on Friday, March 27, Delaware County has recorded 190 cases of COVID-19 with four fatalities.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply