Gov. Murphy tours new Paramus facility. Photo: Michael Karas, NorthJersey.com
During the COVID-19 pandemic response, the lack of hospital bed space has been a public health crisis and architects and builders have been called upon to leverage their problem-solving skills and creativity to convert underutilized facilities such as convention centers, college dormitories, sports arenas, gymnasiums, etc. into Acute and Non-Acute Alternative Care Facilities.
KCCT is honored to be part of this response, assisting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in multiple nationwide COVID-19 Rapid Response projects in collaboration with Conti Federal and WSP Engineering. This includes an emergency, non-acute care facility in Paramus, New Jersey, one of the hardest-hit states during the Coronavirus pandemic, with over 111,000 cases state-wide and over 14,900 cases in Bergen County.
In response to a lack of hospital space in Paramus, a gymnasium attached to the Bergen County Hospital has been converted into a 30-bed non-acute treatment center with specially-designed plastic, modular partitions around each patient area. The space required a replacement of all the building systems and the addition of emergency back-up power, and sprinkler and fire alarm systems to meet the minimum requirements contained in the current FGI Guidelines, which are considered the minimum standard for establishing patient and staff safety in the design and construction of health care facilities.
“We mobilized on-site in just three hours after award, and the most intense work came in the first five days following.” Says lead designer Michael Zajkowski. “The design needed to be fully developed so that the facility could be completed in just a few days.”
The design and construction teams worked around the clock to complete this critical transformation in just 14 days, and KCCT is especially grateful to those hard-working individuals. It’s a team effort that shows the real power of coming together in a time of crisis.
About KCCT
Washington, D.C.-based KCCT is a multi-disciplinary design firm focused on planning, architecture, and interior design in urban environments. The firm’s unique practice features a regional portfolio of prominent new development, renovations and infrastructure in Washington’s Federal Core, and an international component including fourteen new US Diplomatic facilities and worldwide projects in more than 160 cities.