COVID

Reopened COVID-19 field hospital at DCU Center in Worcester admits first patients

Operated by UMass Memorial Health Care, the new site is outfitted with 220 walled-off hospital beds.

Janelle Forget, Associate Vice President of risk management, UMass Memorial, shows off a telemetry unit at the DCU Center as it gears up to be used as a Covid field hospital for the second time on December 3, 2020 in Worcester, MA. Nancy Lane/Pool

By Ainslie Cromar

2 minutes to read

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The re-established 220-bed temporary field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester has already accepted at least four new COVID-19 patients since opening its doors Sunday morning.  

Outfitted with rows of walled-off hospital beds, the site is run by UMass Memorial Health Care and Dr. John Broach, the arena’s medical director, told WCVB NewsCenter 5 that the first handful of COVID-19 patients were evaluated for admission as of Sunday afternoon. The center is the first field hospital to re-open in the state since June.

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As Massachusetts takes on a second fall surge in the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Charlie Baker called on the National Guard to rebuild the site throughout November in hopes of preserving local hospital’s capacity to treat higher-risk coronavirus patients as cases continue to rise. 

Officials said in a release that the DCU site will not take walk-ins or emergency cases, but will provide beds to help those who are too sick to go home yet no longer require critical care. 

“This is the right thing to do and at the right time,” President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care Eric Dickson said in a statement. “The field hospital was an enormous asset for Central Massachusetts hospitals during the spring surge. I believe it can serve an even greater purpose today because we have learned so much more about the virus and caring for COVID-19 patients since then.”

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During the first surge of COVID-19 cases from early April till late May, the DCU site served 161 patients. In total, the DCU and other field hospitals across Mass. cared for more than 570 patients.  

Caseloads continue to rise as a new surge takes hold in the Commonwealth and experts predict that hospitalizations will likely rise as well over the next two weeks.

Plans are also underway to temporarily convert UMass Lowell’s Campus Recreation Center into a second field hospital during the winter break, according to a message sent to the college community.  

Depending on pandemic hospitalizations in the Merrimack Valley, university officials said they expect to open that site back up to students by the first or second week of February.

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