The Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver is slated to be operational as an alternative care site for Covid-19 patients on June 4. Gov. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) announced this week that it will decommission a temporary hospital at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. It will be a medical center to help our hospitals as they prepare for a surge of patients. It’s a back-up plan with a huge price tag. “It’s what I call the state’s insurance policy for our health care system,” said Mike Willis, director of the Colorado Emergency Operations Center. The Convention Center was prepared to handle an … “Preparation continues related to standing up an alternative care facility at the Colorado Convention Center … RELATED: Denver preparing to use Colorado Convention Center as a hospital. Willis says the 250 empty beds inside the Colorado Convention Center are the equivalent of having home, auto or health care insurance. Mayor Michael Hancock has said that the Colorado Convention Center will be converted into a field hospital that holds 2,000 beds later this month. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The event space in downtown Denver will be handed back to the city by March 25, about 11 months after the state transformed it into an overflow site for COVID-19 patients. As of Thursday, 712 people in Colorado are currently hospitalized because of COVID-19. That’s roughly $1.8 million a month for empty beds. The Colorado Convention Center plans to re-emerge as a temporary hospital by April 18 in order to take on the predicted influx of critical COVID-19 cases. Empty Colorado Convention Center COVID-19 field hospital costing state $60,000 a day Allison Sylte 6/11/2020 Opinion: To recharge the country, Biden should give 1 … Originally expected to open in late April, the hospital at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver is now projected to open on June 4 with the facility at The Ranch in Loveland scheduled for an opening date of June 11. Temporary coronavirus hospital at Colorado Convention Center delayed, downsized amid diminishing need The facility was previously targeted to open Saturday with up to … “Everything says there’s probably going to be a surge this winter,” said Steve Smith, who lives downtown. “You have it and hope you never need it,” Willis said. “We have healed many patients with one single unit of convalescent plasma and they ended up leaving the hospital when they were on the verge of death,” he said. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) announced this week that it will decommission a temporary hospital at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Neighboring businesses like the Hotel Teatro and others say the convention center’s continued closure is crushing business. “It’s never been used to this day.”. Jared Polis on Friday explained how the building in the heart of Denver will soon become a temporary hospital with up to 2,000 beds for new coronavirus patients, as the state readies for potential surge in the coming weeks. “You have a blanket, maybe batteries and a flashlight. Two others with smaller patient capacities, in Pueblo and Westminster, will remain operational. Jared Polis gets a first hand look at the progress of work inside the Colorado Convention Center after delivering his press briefing on April 10, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. “There is the risk that we have a number of flu hospitalizations and then COVID-19 surges and then our hospital capacity will be diminished,” Barron said. By the time the agreement ends, the state will have leased the convention center for 353 days. The convention center is expected to be returned to Denver County by March 25. The City of Denver's lease of the Colorado Convention Center for COVID-19 care during the coronavirus pandemic was set to expire in two days. DENVER -- As several Colorado cities and towns look to cost-cutting measures to offset the devastating impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the state of Colorado continues to shell out millions in tax dollars for a field hospital that has never been used. “We will not be surprised by this virus a second time,” Stahel said. In about a 72-hour span, Colorado will have done contract and design work on this massive project. Jared Polis converted the center to an emergency hospital last April to the tune of $20 million. DENVER — The state’s emergency management team has begun to deconstruct the field hospital at the Colorado Convention Center. DENVER — The state’s emergency management team has begun to deconstruct the field hospital at the Colorado Convention Center. The state is converting the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Colorado rented the convention center to treat people with milder coronavirus symptoms in the event that ICUs reached capacity and hospitals could not handle the overall demand. “The layout of the convention center is near about ideal,” Edwards said on Thursday. “I feel it’s a waste of money,” said one Denver resident. At a cost of $60,000 per day, the tab comes to $21.2 million. The city plans to use the building through the month of June but has the option to … Denver officials are targeting April 18 to begin using the Colorado Convention Center as a temporary medical facility with up to 2,000 beds, according to internal city … P: 303.228.8000 F: 303.228.8103 E: info@denverconvention.com “Obviously it’s not an easy call to make, but the projections show that we’re going to need potentially 1000 or more hospital beds by about the 8th, 9th, 10th of April.” Colorado Convention Center to become 2,000-bed field hospital; Hancock asks hotels for rooms “I don’t think any of us should expect in Colorado that this facility will ever have to be full. The convention center will serve as one Alternative Care Facility, which if needed, can be used to handle a potential surge in COVID-19 cases. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses downtown are struggling to survive while the Colorado Convention Center seems to be buffered from the chaos and gloomy economic outlook. The convention center has been on the short list of possible makeshift hospital locations as the number of coronavirus cases in Colorado has grown exponentially. The care center was constructed in the event that hospital … “I say we save money. “Indoor, flu – everything like that. She says it’s in our nature to be prepared for the worst in Colorado. The field hospital in downtown Denver, built to treat coronavirus patients who were not seriously ill, was never used. “Being prepared isn’t free,” Willis said. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun) A similar field hospital is being constructed at The Ranch at the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Complex. Jared Polis said at the field center’s opening that the state wanted to be prepared but hoped to never need it. The event space in … The hospital, which was built to care for COVID-19 patients if hospitals became overwhelmed, never … Jared Polis speaks to the news media at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center on Friday, April 10, 2020, where the state is … To comment on this or other 360 stories, email us at 360@TheDenverChannel.com. Renovations to convert Denver's convention center into a field hospital began just a week ago, but there are increasing signs it may not be needed when it opens this weekend. “If we were to ever need it, it would have been worth every penny. RELATED: Drive-up vaccinations run more smoothly for National Jewish Health's second mass vaccination effort for people 70 and older, RELATED: State will help speed up long-term care facility vaccinations, RELATED: Colorado stops using Curative COVID testing due to accuracy concerns, SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Full Episodes of Next with Kyle Clark. Maybe zero, but what about that one time?”. “The state’s hospital capacity is expected to meet the healthcare needs of COVID-19 as shown by modeling data and information from hospital partners,” Colorado Emergency Management wrote on Twitter. “Just two weeks ago, for the very first time in six months, we had zero COVID patients,” Stahel said. Seems to me that a problem foreseen is a problem avoided. At that time, the state started building an overflow care center in the Colorado Convention Center. A 2000 bed field hospital under construction at the Colorado Convention Center April 10, 2020. Why? Inside a makeshift hospital room inside the Colorado Convention Center on Friday, April 10, 2020. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. DENVER — The state’s emergency management team has begun to deconstruct the field hospital at the Colorado Convention Center. Editor's Note: Denver7 360 stories explore multiple sides of the topics that matter most to Coloradans, bringing in different perspectives so you can make up your own mind about the issues. The temporary facilities, sometimes called field hospitals, have been set up in the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver, as well as in Pueblo and the Denver suburb of Westminster. The cost to keep the beds available at the Colorado Convention Center under the current lease is $60,000 a day. Back at the EOC, Willis points out FEMA is footing the bill for about 75% of the convention center costs. At that time, the state started building an overflow care center in the Colorado Convention Center. None of the 2,000 beds were ever used. Once open, the Colorado Convention Center will have about 600 beds and The Ranch will have 195, Cahill said. Colorado Convention Center. The facility will have the capacity for 2,000 beds, but Polis said he envisions the number of actual patients could be in the hundreds. Over at the Medical Center of Aurora, chief medical officer Dr. Philip Stahel does not see a scenario where they would need the convention center. Why spend the money on leasing the space if it’s never been utilized?” said another. The opening dates for the temporary hospital facilities in Denver and Loveland are being pushed back again. Some were worried about what the decision would damage the center’s image. COVID vaccine information hotline receives more than 5,200 calls on its first day, In Other News: NASA astronauts take spacewalk, new Alexa features include guard dog bark and Kraft launches Valentine's Day mac & cheese, Frigid temperatures cause extremely slick roads in Colorado, Volunteers shovel sidewalks in Chicago for seniors, Avalanche get back on track, rout Sharks 7-3, One and only Aqib Talib speaks No Fly Zone greatness, reason for Broncos playoff slump, Drive-up vaccinations run more smoothly for National Jewish Health's second mass vaccination effort for people 70 and older, State will help speed up long-term care facility vaccinations, Colorado stops using Curative COVID testing due to accuracy concerns. 700 14th St. Denver, Colorado 80202. The Ranch was initially earmarked … His belief is, it’s better to be safe than sorry. “I think that they need to leave it open because there’s too many people still not wearing masks,” said one Denver resident. 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