Marin Center converted into emergency coronavirus hospital - Marin Independent Journal

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• Chris Le Baudour, left, administrator of the Marin County Emergency Management Services Agency, confers with public health director James Villella at the coronavirus overflow hospital in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. It is inside the Marin Center Exhibit Hall. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• Chris Le Baudour, administrator of the Marin County Emergency Management Services Agency, checks a patient station at the coronavirus overflow hospital in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. It is inside the Marin Center Exhibit Hall. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• Ross Valley firefighter Michael Gutierrez checks the batteries of portable cardiac monitors at the coronavirus overflow hospital in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. The hospital, which is inside the Marin Center Exhibit Hall, is set up for 32 patients but could be expanded to 100. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• Patient beds line the coronavirus overflow hospital at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. The hospital is equipped with clipboards for patient information in case internet service is disrupted. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• Ross Valley firefighter Michael Gutierrez works at the coronavirus overflow hospital in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. The hospital, which is inside the Marin Center Exhibit Hall, is set up for 32 patients but could be expanded to 100. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• Ross Valley firefighter Michael Gutierrez, left, and Chris Le Baudour, administrator of the Marin County Emergency Management Services Agency, confer at the coronavirus overflow hospital in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. It is inside the Marin Center Exhibit Hall. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• Ross Valley firefighter Michael Gutierrez works at the coronavirus overflow hospital at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

• A work station at Marin County's backup coronavirus hospital in San Rafael on May 20, 2020. The hospital, which is inside the Marin Center Exhibit Hall, is set up for 32 patients but could be expanded to 100. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

Marin County has converted part of the Marin Center into a makeshift hospital for coronavirus patients.

The facility, which was set up this month, is not staffed with medical workers and no patients have been admitted. But the site is ready to be opened if Marin’s hospitals become overwhelmed, officials said.

“We started this plan when surges were an imminent concern and threat,” said Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s chief public health officer. “It’s waiting in case we need it.”

Marin’s public health officials have been preparing for the possibility of a spike in coronavirus cases that could overwhelm the county’s hospitals, but such a surge hasn’t come. The highest number of patients hospitalized at one time in Marin was reported on April 1, when nine people were being treated for the illness.

Hospitals in the county normally have combined capacity of 239 beds. But amid the pandemic, hospitals are prepared to increase capacity by almost 70%, to about 400 beds total, according to a statement issued by the county.

The treatment center at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall could provide capacity for an additional 100 patients, officials said.

The center is set up with 32 beds, but is ready to be expanded if needed, said Chris Le Baudour, administrator for the county’s Emergency Medical Services Agency.

He said the treatment center would provide care for patients who need medical attention, but not for those with the most severe symptoms, including people who need to be hooked up to ventilators.

“The goal is to free up beds at the hospitals so they can manage the more critical patients,” he said.

The county has spent about $113,000 setting up the facility, including $25,000 for equipment and $88,000 for staff time, according to County Administrator Matthew Hymel. He said operating the facility as a treatment center would cost between $1.5 million and $3 million per month. The county plans to apply for a reimbursement for operating costs — including the cost of renting the Marin Center Exhibit Hall — from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Hymel.

County supervisors approved up to $3 million last month to fund the treatment center as part of a budget adjustment that allocated $5.9 million for costs related to the county’s coronavirus response efforts.

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