Designers can create more healthcare spaces in hotels

Engineers, architects, and other designers are working with healthcare experts on a range of efforts to help expand the nation’s supply of hospital beds, according to an article on the ASCE website

One example is the conversion of otherwise idle hotel rooms. Virtually all of the  more than 5 million guest rooms in the United States are empty.

A number of questions need to be answered before using hotels for COVID-19 patients. Among the questions is how to supply oxygen for those who need ventilators.

Hotels have other uses. They can serve as respite sites for health-care workers, temporary care centers for those with less severe symptoms, or living quarters for symptom-free people who test positive for the virus and need to avoid family members at home.

Read the article.