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TCF Center to become 900-bed medical site as state calls for volunteers

Updated  March 30, 2020 10:14pm EDT
Coronavirus in Michigan
FOX 2 Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - From doctors to respiratory therapists, the state is calling for medical professionals to volunteer to lend a hand as the TCF Center downtown Detroit transforms into a 900-bed medical site.

“We know that several hospitals in the state, particularly southeast Michigan, are at capacity,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

State calls for volunteers to help at TCF Center medical site

The TCF Center downtown Detroit will become a nearly 1,000-bed medical site as the state asks volunteers to step up.

All hands on deck in Michigan's fight against COVID 19 means the TCF Center will temporarily be transformed into a 900-bed medical site.

“I accepted the recommendation of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Detroit District for an alternative care facility conversion at the TCF Center in Detroit,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.

RELATED: Track Michigan coronavirus cases by county with this interactive map

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will fund the construction which will be designed in a way that will allow the convention center to resume normal operations when appropriate. The construction work will be performed by TCF Center workforce and union workers. But converting the TCF Center into a medical site also means filling another void.

“We will need additional medical professionals -- doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, respiratory therapists -- to respond to this crisis,” Khaldun said.

Whitmer signed an executive order relaxing the scope of practice laws to get qualified workers in medical facilities.

“We don't have enough right now to staff a 1,000-bed facility but we are aggressively loosening the scope of practice laws, calling for volunteers,” Khaldun said.

For more information, go to https://detroitmi.gov

The TCF Center's message during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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“We will not see the benefit of these aggressive efforts for a little while and that's why it’s so important everyone continues to do your part,” Whitmer said.

As efforts continue to fight COVID 19, the TCF Center tells Fox 2 that they have not lost sight of their clients and are working with them to find other dates that are beneficial to them.