Field Hospital Arrives After Calls for Urgent Action by Mayor Durkan and Governor Inslee
Seattle (March 27, 2020) – Following calls for a military hospital from Mayor Jenny A. Durkan and Governor Jay Inslee, the US Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA has agreed to deploy a military field hospital at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field Event Center to assist the region’s hospitals. 300 soldiers from the 627th Army Hospital from Fort Carson, Colorado have deployed to Seattle to staff the hospital, which is expected to create at least 150 hospital beds for non-COVID-19 cases.
“As we continue to do everything possible to slow the spread of COVID-19 throughout Washington state, we also need to prepare our healthcare delivery system to deal with people who are sick, or may become ill, as well as all the other health needs of Washingtonians. This field hospital will help us do that and I am grateful to the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, and FEMA for bringing in these much needed resources of people, supplies and equipment. I appreciate Mayor Durkan’s leadership in helping to bring this to the Puget Sound region. Together, we will stop the spread of this virus and help save lives,” Gov. Jay Inslee said.
“From the onset of this pandemic, Governor Inslee and local officials have acted quickly to slow the spread of the virus. The arrival of a military field hospital in Seattle is critical to expanding our region’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mayor Durkan. “We will work quickly with the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to ensure that this field hospital is set up and ready to receive patients soon. I appreciate the advocacy of Governor Inslee, quick work of Vulcan Inc., the Seattle Seahawks, and CenturyLink Field to allow the rapid deployment of this field hospital, and I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the men of women of the U.S Army who will be doing life saving work. As the rest of our region comes together to flatten the curve, we must ensure that our local, state, and federal government agencies are working together to increase access to testing and provide our health care professionals with the vital safety equipment they need to stay healthy as they work to keep the rest of us healthy.”
“This is a whole-of-government response and FEMA remains focused on taking bold action to provide life-sustaining resources,” said Mike O’Hare, FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer. “Together with our local, state and federal partners, the private sector is playing a critical role in our united effort to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In the coming days, the Department of Defense will announce additional details regarding the military hospital. It is expected to be constructed in the coming days and begin to serve patients soon.