Coronavirus: Alternate Care Facility In Stony Brook Complete

STONY BROOK, NY — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday finished converting 255,676-square-feet of Stony Brook University's campus into a temporary field hospital that will provide care to up to 1,028 non-coronavirus patients and low acuity coronavirus patients, the organization announced.

Five climate-controlled tents were built on an open field on campus grounds. The interior of the tents resemble a hospital: rows of single-patient care units or rooms that will include beds, privacy walls, medical supplies and equipment. There will also be overhead lighting, restrooms, showers, nursing stations, food service, and a computer station, powered by multiple generators, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

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There are 263,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, with 15,740 people having died as of Friday afternoon. In Suffolk County, nearly 31,000 people have tested positive as of Friday morning, and 959 died as of Thursday afternoon.

"New York is the epicenter of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the nation and that is why we worked diligently and swiftly to complete four alternate care facilities in New York," Col. Thomas Asbery, commander, New York District, said in a statement.

The facilities are at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, Westchester County Convention Center in White Plains, State University of New York at Old Westbury and Stony Brook University.

"I am honored and humbled to lead this team of experts and professionals who have set the standard for the emergency response to this public health crisis," Asbery said. "What we did in New York is historic and unprecedented and will be carried out many times over nationwide. Nonetheless, we still have much more work to do as we support FEMA, New York State and our local partners and stakeholders across New York. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue to work tirelessly at all levels in helping the American people recover from the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic."

Anthony Ciorra, mission manager, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is one of those working on the Stony Brook Alternate Care Center. He said his brother contracted the coronavirus in March and became very sick, developing pneumonia and having to be admitted to a hospital for 10 days.

"This is an unprecedented time in all our lives, and I wanted do my small part in making a difference in a monumental effort to fight this virus," Ciorra said.

The nation's hospital system was not prepared for a pandemic after being caught by surprise, the Army Corps of Engineers stated in its news release. With coronavirus patients filling many beds in hospitals throughout the state, less space was available for patients with other conditions.

The New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working with other agencies to convert existing buildings into alternate care facilities to provide hospitals extra space to care for coronavirus and non-coronavirus patients. Partners include FEMA, the Department of Defense, as well as other federal, state and local partners. The work is part of a national Federal Emergency Management Agency mission.

"To help New York State hospitals deal with this, Army Corps’ New York District volunteers are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week," the release states. "They are locating existing buildings that can be converted into these alternate care facilities and then they are designing and constructing them."

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