Three weeks ago, Newtown Athletic Club owner Jim Worthington reached out to local, state and federal governments to donate the NAC facilities and the Newtown Sports Training Center for any emergency use due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Bucks County Emergency Services accepted this offer, and NAC is in the process of preparing the space for 300+ beds for overflow hospital needs. The space will be ready for patients by Friday, April 10.
Throughout the week, county and NAC workers have been moving green-mattressed beds and medical supplies into the sprawling center, which will be divided into quadrants to treat COVID-19 patients, as well as those not infected.
Patients at the site will not be critically ill. Rather, they will typically be people in need of a few more days of hospitalization before being well enough to go home, or COVID-19 patients whose conditions are not serious enough to require a ventilator.
A combination of volunteer medical workers – both retired and active doctors and nurses – are needed to help staff the facility. Daily operations will be supervised by an experienced medical professional.
“The NAC, since 1978, has stood as a staple and cornerstone of the community during some of our nation’s most difficult and trying times. This hard time is no different. It is our privilege to be able to contribute and support our community in this small way,” said Worthington.
The Newtown Sports Training Center is a 40,000-square-foot indoor field house designed for sports activities and special events, such as large celebrations, exhibitions, car shows and more. As a large, open indoor space, it is perfectly suited to house this type of temporary emergency service. Having this overflow space available so close to area hospitals is critical to dealing effectively with the potential community need during this time.
“After 42 years of service to the community, we have never faced a situation such as this and are grateful to have the resources to support our community and country,” said Linda Mitchell, director of public relations and a 39-year NAC employee.
Bucks County Chair of Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia expressed, on behalf of all the commissioners and the county, her gratitude for this gesture of support.
“We are really grateful to Jim, and grateful to all of the people who are going to turn this into a convalescent place where people can get healthy again,” she said.
The county’s confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to climb, with reports of 116 more people testing positive for the virus. Hospitals in Bucks County are not yet threatened with being overrun with COVID-19 patients, said Emergency Services Director Scott T. Forster, but the county is not willing to take any chances.
“We don’t know that we will need this facility,” he said. “But the time when we know that we need it is not the time to get ready for it. This time to get ready is now.”
Forty-four county residents with COVID-19 are hospitalized, 14 of them in critical condition and on ventilators or other life-supporting equipment. One death was reported yesterday – a 91-year-old woman – bringing the county’s death toll to 25. A total of 931 residents have tested positive for the virus, 13 of whom are confirmed to have recovered.
Of the 116 new Bucks County cases, only four or five are attributed to community spread, said county Health Director Dr. David Damsker.
“The majority of our new cases are in healthcare workers,” he said.
So far, Damsker said COVID-19 cases have been confirmed at 18 different Bucks County congregate living facilities, which include, but are not limited to, nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Each facility has had at least one staff member or resident test positive, or both.
“We are working with these 18 facilities and are continuing to give guidance to make sure we can minimize the effects of this situation,” he said.
In addition to healthcare workers, people who fill essential jobs that bring them into close contact with others are those who continue to get sick in significant numbers, Damsker said.
“Unless we stop these essential services, we are going to continue to have cases in the people who work these jobs,” he said.
Residents of 50 of Bucks County’s 54 municipalities have tested positive for the virus, with Hulmeville Borough added yesterday. A map showing those municipalities and charts of other coronavirus-related information is available at covid19-bucksgis.hub.arcgis.com/
