Huntington District Conducts Assessment of Alternate Care Facility

Photo By Josh Bennett | CHARLESTON, WV - Jeffrey Jezewski, electrical engineer with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District Assessment Team, asses different areas of St. Francis Hospital in Charleston to gather information about possible future use of the building for victims of Coronavirus. The Emergency Operations team is made up of members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District, Department of Health and Human Resources and the West Virginia National Guard.  

HUNTINGTON, WV, UNITED STATES

03.28.2020

Story by Brian Maka 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District

An Emergency Operations team from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntington District, Department of Health and Human Resources and the West Virginia National Guard met with the administration of St. Francis Hospital in Charleston to gather information about possible future use of the building for victims of Coronavirus as an alternate care facility.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is prepared to assist the nation in a time of crisis to the very best of its capabilities. USACE is working with the White House, Department of Defense, and other federal, state and local partners in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Under the National Activation Mission Assignment, USACE has Team Leaders and Assistant Team Leaders (TLs & ATLs) providing Emergency Support Function 3 (ESF 3, Public Works and Engineering) technical assistance at FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center and support to FEMA Regions. USACE’s TLs & ATLs are also coordinating ESF 3 support requirements for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Under the planning mission assignment, USACE Team Leaders are providing planning and assessments for the possible conversion of existing buildings into alternate care facilities. USACE personnel are assisting the state and FEMA’s efforts with initial site assessments as well as in-depth alternate care facility site assessments. This effort is helping to shape future anticipated mission assignments for alternate care facility support to individual states.
“Our teams of dedicated employees are working diligently to meet the call of our nation and help tackle the problem that this virus has created for our national healthcare network,” said Randy Campbell, Huntington District Emergency Management Chief.

Overall USACE has received three FEMA Mission Assignments (MAs) totaling $352.1 million, and USACE has more than 165 personnel providing support. Two of the FEMA MAs ($2.1 million) are for national activation and to provide initial planning and engineering support nationwide to address possible medical facility shortages in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. One of the FEMA MAs ($350M), issued for New York ONLY, is for facility assessments, planning, engineering, design, contracting, and construction of alternate medical sites.

• Date Taken: 03.28.2020
• Date Posted: 03.28.2020 14:37
• Story ID: 366106
• Location: HUNTINGTON, WV, US