Aurora Factory Changes To Build Hospital Beds Amid Coronavirus

AURORA, IL — A line at the Richards-Wilcox factory in Aurora that usually creates office shelving, has switched to making emergency beds in response to the new coronavirus pandemic. Production changed after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a "stay at home" order March 20 and the company had to send employees home.

The manufacturing plant is used to creating office storage, museum displays and filing systems. Now, the new emergency beds can be supplied to hospitals, short-term medical facilities and shelters dealing with the pandemic.

"We have a solution for every story, and now we have our best solution yet," the company said on Facebook. "In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have transformed our 365,000-square-foot factory into an emergency bed manufacturer to create temporary beds in an effort to help those in need."

Production has already started and the company said beds will be ready to ship as early as this week.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S is leading the world with 140,940 confirmed cases of COVID-19. So far, 2,405 people have died.

With more cases, health systems across the country are moving to create temporary quarantine shelters and coronavirus-specific medical facilities. This includes a plan to turn Chicago's McCormick Place into the state's first field hospital for 3,000 coronavirus patients.

“We have the ability and desire to help fill the need for temporary beds, so it was a simple decision," Richards-Wilcox President Bob McMurtry said in a statement. “Our entire company is fully committed to doing our part to help the world face this unprecedented challenge.”