The Connecticut National Guard will be setting up additional surge capacity hospital beds at UConn Health on Monday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Guard plans to assist UConn Health with setting up 136 surge capacity hospital beds in the Connecticut Tower.
The beds would help prepare for a potential increase in coronavirus patients as the pandemic continues.
The National Guard will also provide UConn Health with equipment for an additional 107 beds on the seventh floor of University Tower, if they were needed, UConn Health officials said.
Once the beds are set up, UConn Health will have a surge capacity of 243 hospital beds, in addition to the 82 they already have in the University Tower, officials added.
“We would like to thank the State’s Unified Command and the National Guard for their assistance in getting us prepared for the worst case scenario. This is capacity we hope we won’t have to utilize, but it is important to be prepared,” says CEO of UConn Health and EVP of Health Affairs Andrew Agwunobi.
There are over 11,500 cases of coronavirus and nearly 500 deaths reported in Connecticut.
