ALBUQUERQUE – A hospital within the grounds of Gibson Medical Center that was shuttered in 2007 is expected to reopen after it was quickly retrofitted to treat patients with COVID-19, state health officials said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed over the building to the New Mexico Department of Health last weekend, making as many as 200 beds available, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
“The facility is slated to be operational April 27, but it could be earlier, so that date’s subject to change,” department spokesman David Morgan said.
The hospital used to be a Lovelace Health System facility. It was revived to house coronavirus patients, but could also be used to handle general hospital overflow as well, he said. Members of the state Medical Reserve Corps were hired to staff operations.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.
Albuquerque-based Weil Construction and subcontractors completed $3.6 million in renovations to the hospital’s aging infrastructure in 14 days, company officials said.
“We had 150 workers on the project,” owner Chris Weil said. “We were running 24/7.”
Plumbing and elevator repairs posed challenges, Weil said, because of “rusting and rotting.”
Crews also completed work on electrical, alarm and heating and air conditioning systems, windows and patient oxygen systems. They also transformed former examination rooms and offices into patient rooms, Weil said.
The project was primarily funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with state matching money, the Journal reported.
New Mexico has more than 2,200 confirmed coronavirus cases and 71 people have died.
