Austin Convention Center Readied For Coronavirus Patients

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Convention Center — a portion of which has been modified as an alternative care site for residents suffering from the coronavirus — is now ready to take in patients from local hospitals, officials said Tuesday.

The makeshift clinic is designed to alleviate the burden of caring for coronavirus patients in hospitals across Central Texas, officials explained in an advisory. The facility was established to take specific patients needing a lower intensity of care, according to the advisory. Patients needing higher-level or intensive care will still be cared for at hospitals, officials added.

The announcement came on the same day the region's interim health authority, Dr. Mark Escott, had dual presentations before Austin City Council and Travis County Commissioners Court projecting the city's hospitals will exceed intensive care unit (ICU) capacity by Thursday. Escott's projections are based on the University of Texas at Austin COVID-19 modeling consortium.

Collective capacity levels at Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White Health and St. David’s HealthCare illustrate dwindling hospital resources across the region as illness cases surge. In a separate statement, officials said the 2,473 staffed beds within all three healthcare systems are 75 percent occupied while the 483 ICU beds are 91 percent occupied.

The number of cumulative cases of coronavirus stood at 955 as of Monday while the number of fatalities rose by four to 573, as seen on a dashboard maintained by Austin Public Health. The numbers represent combined data for both Sunday and Monday resulting in a higher case count amid dashboard and maintenance upgrades, as Austin Public Health officials explained in an advisory issued on Sunday. The dashboard was not updated on Tuesday but will be current by Wednesday with combined two-day figures input into the platform, officials explained.

Given a backdrop of rising illness, health district officials said the Austin Convention Center now housing an alternative care site is ready to open following a request to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. The state agency, the City of Austin, Travis County and the Capital Area Trauma Regional Advisory Council have worked in partnership to launch operations at the makeshift medical facility, officials said.

Previous coverage: Austin Convention Center Prepped For Coronavirus Patients

“Opening the facility is a signal to the community that we have a long way to go in our fight against COVID-19 and we are grateful to the Texas Division of Emergency Management for their support in the rapid opening of this facility,” Interim Austin-Travis County Health Authority said Dr. Mark Escott said in a prepared statement. “While we have increased the capacity of our healthcare system, we have to reduce our risk and flatten the curve immediately. Central Texas must come together and say that we will not accept unnecessary hospitalizations and death due to COVID-19.”

Patients entering the site will be transferred from hospitals, officials said, adding that it is not a walk-up site. Coordination has begun among staff of the alternative care site, the Capital Area Trauma Regional Advisory Council and the hospitals to ensure that all parties understand the criteria and the process for transferring patients from a hospital to the makeshift site, officials said.

The process for admission to the alternative care site will be managed by the Capital Area Trauma Regional Advisory Council, officials noted. The site has doctors and other medical personnel at the facility 24 hours a day, officials added, and patients will be given the highest level of care and, should their condition worsen, a process to transfer patients to local hospitals has been established. The facility has a current capacity of 25 beds and has the capability to expand if necessary, according to the advisory.