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ESSEX JUNCTION — Roughly 150 Vermont National Guard soldiers and airmen have been working 14-hour shifts since Thursday afternoon as they race to build a 400-bed medical surge facility at the Champlain Valley Expo on Saturday, April 4, 2020.Â
Soldiers and airmen were busy hammering and erecting retaining walls with two-by-fours and plywood in one part of the facility while other pods were being readied for patient care between walls swathed in white plastic Saturday afternoon.
Guard officials expect 150 beds to be available by Sunday. They are constructing eight 50-bed pods in total and say they have enough equipment for the patients and a 75-member medical staff made up of guard personnel.Â
“We are prepared to go,” said Lt. Col. Chris Gookin, the guard’s deputy state surgeon.
The facility will not be treating Covid-19 patients. It is designed to alleviate pressure on the emergency room at the University of Vermont Medical Center but will not be treating severe trauma.Â
The facility is not open for walk-ins. Patients need to be referred to the site.
