FLORISSANT, Mo. — The Quality Inn hotel in Florissant is now home to the first alternate care site in the state of Missouri to help in the fight against COVID-19.
The site opened on Wednesday with the Missouri National Guard touring the facility for the first time.
The hotel was converted over the past week and is now ready to receive patients from St. Louis hospitals like Barnes-Jewish, SSM, Mercy and other smaller hospitals in the area.
The new alternate care site was planned and constructed through coordination from the Missouri National Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Health and Senior Services, SEMA's Disaster Medical Assistance Team, the Missouri Hospital Association and FEMA.
The converted hotel has 120 beds and will bolster the bed capacity for patients in the area. It includes a triage station, four nurse stations, conference rooms and a privacy fence around the perimeter.
"This site highlights how all partners pulled together during this effort as one team to ensure the health and well-being of the citizens of Missouri," Missouri National Guard Adjunct General, Brig. Gen Levon Cumpton said.
"Now it's fair to say, while the coronavirus might have thrown America a curve, I believe that it has met its match here in Florissant and elsewhere," U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Commanding General Maj. Gen. Mark Toy said.
Medical professionals at the alternate care site are from the Missouri National Guard's 139th Medical Group and the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team.