How to build a 1,000 bed capacity hospital in 10 days.
It was 2014, a pandemic identified as Ebola was quickly spreading across West Africa. With a 25–90% mortality rate, highly contagious, weak detection and poor infrastructure the current medical response teams were overwhelmed. It quickly became clear that the current infrastructure wouldn’t be sufficient.
Emergency medicine physician Dr. Solomon Aquah with help from the International rescue committee coordinated in the construction of emergency hospitals. 100–200 bed field hospitals were built in a few short months in rural africa to assist the overwhelmed local hospitals.
According to the World Health Organization(WHO), the current fatality rate for confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus cases is 3.4%. Though not mortally dangerous as other previous pandemics ,COVID-19 is dangerous due to it infectiousness, even with a low fatality rate . If allowed to spread without control measures COVID-19 can overwhelm healthcare systems.
A 3.4% fatality rate can seem not significant but consider how fast coronavirus spreads in a population.
When the corona virus outbreak began in Wuhan late last year and early January, the chinese government quickly concluded that local hospitals would be overwhelmed. Having achieved a similar feat of building a hospital in 6 days during the SARS pandemic ,two hospitals were built in Wuhan in less than two weeks, exclusively for COVID-19 patients.
- Huoshenshan Hospital (Mount Fire God Hospital), built from January 24 to February 3.
- Leishenshan Hospital (Mount Thunder God Hospital), built from January 26 to February 6
The engineering feat which allowed buildings to be completed in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods is possible due to two main inputs.
- Prefabrication technology
- Significant labor input with over 7500 workers in three shifts
Building temporary healthcare facilities with prefabrication
Traditional construction methods are slow because they follow a linear approach, where many activities depend on the completion of previous tasks.For example structural components cannot be installed until the groundwork and foundations are completed. In turn, building envelope components cannot be installed without the underlying structure.
With prefabrication, structural components and building systems can be manufactured offsite, even if the groundworks and foundations are not complete. In other words, prefabrication transforms construction from a linear process to a parallel process.
If a country must expand its healthcare system to contain a contagious pandemic like coronavirus , prefabricated emergency hospitals are a viable solution.
Another unique approach currently been adopted in the United Kingdom is to use existing infrastructure. Abandoned factories and go downs can utilize prefabrication technology converting unused infrastructure to fully functioning emergency hospitals, morgues and testing facilities.
The Huoshenshan Hospital is located in the Caidian District of Wuhan. The facility has 1,000 beds and 30 intensive care units (ICU), with two floors and over 269,000 sq.ft. There are multiple areas and quarantine wards to treat coronavirus patients with different symptoms: unconfirmed cases, mild cases, and severe cases that need life support. The hospital also has medical equipment rooms, and an isolated command center where protective equipment is not needed.
The Huoshenshan Hospital was built with prefabricated units, each with an area of around 100 sq.ft. and designed for two beds.
- A specially designed ventilation systems creates negative pressure in patient rooms, to prevent air leaks that could carry the coronavirus outside.
- The rooms have two-sided cabinets, allowing the delivery of medical supplies without opening the door.
- The hospital is run by a medical staff of over 1400, which includes military medics who have experience with previous outbreaks like SARS and Ebola.
- Medical robots support the staff with tasks like testing patients and administering medication.
The Leishenshan Hospital is located in the Jiangxia District of Wuhan, 40 kilometers away from the first hospital, with a capacity of 1,600 beds. This hospital is divided into 32 zones, where 4 zones are exclusively for severe cases of COVID-19. The Leishenshan Hospital is larger, with an area of over 322,000 sq.ft
Dedicated hospitals provide a key benefit during a global pandemic like COVID-19: they isolate patients from those affected by other conditions. This reduces the chance of exposing a patient to coronavirus and another medical condition simultaneously. However incase of limited resources other building materials such as steel, interlocking bricks and moulds could be utilized.
Labor Management
Due to labor been a key element in execution, its essential to follow safety procedures for workers and utilize technology such as BidiiBuild labor management and digital schedule enabling efficient site coordination when time and quality is of the essence. The concurrent shifts and need for exact detail in running a time sensitive project will need a combination of creative working schedules and technology.
We are truly in unprecedented times. Like other monumental events such as 9/11 that changed how we traveled forever, the corona virus is changing how we work and most importantly how we build response systems and infrastructure to devastating pandemics. The construction industry cannot wait for the future anymore it is already here. Building fast , safe and efficiently is literally saving lives.
