New Bedford reopens regional COVID-19 surge care center
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) – Mayor Jon Mitchell announced the reopening of a regional surge care center for COVID-19 on Monday.
In a release, Mitchell said the City decided to reopen the facility to assist the the region’s healthcare system with the recent surge of COVID-19. The center will assist patients who require medical care, but not hospitalization.
The former nursing home facility on Acushnet Avenue is set to open it’s doors on January 18, 2021.
The Acushnet site has 123 beds and will be staffed by physicians and advanced practice nurses. The center is designed to serve as a post-hospital recovery facility for those who need extended recovery time from COVID-19.
“Our most important objective right now is to protect the vulnerable so that they can have the opportunity to be vaccinated. Central to this effort is ensuring that the health care system can attend to all patients who come through its doors,” said Mayor Mitchell.
“We retained control of the surge facilities we established last Spring in case there was another resurgence of the virus, and now we need the same relief again. With new cases higher than ever and a regional health system stretched nearly to full capacity, we are reopening the larger of the two facilities so that our hospitals can continue to provide necessary care to COVID and non-COVID patients alike.”
