The provincial government, the Canadian Red Cross and other health agencies are setting up a 271-bed temporary hospital at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
The temporary hospital will serve non-COVID-19 patients. It will be ready by April 8.
Patients that have been referred from rural and urban centres will be treated at the temporary health site.
The site will not be available for walk-in patients, and essential visits will be restricted in the same way as they are at local hospitals.
The temporary hospital will treat low-acuity non-COVID patients. It will enable regional hospitals to care for critically ill COVID-19 patients, VCH said.
VCH said it is ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the COVID-19 curve can be flattened, but this precautionary steps needs to be taken.
“The alternate care site will increase health-care capacity across the province, augment existing hospital infrastructure and provide additional bed capacity across VCH and the province,” VCH said.
Senior VCH staff will be at the site to oversee transfers to the site, provide medical oversight and support doctors, nurses, care aides and other clinical and non-clinical care providers.
