Visitors to Mercy Hospital Clermont February 28 may have seen what appeared to be a grand camp out in the parking lot, but the enormous tent operating at the facility has nothing to do with smores or ghost stories.
The Alternative Care Center, a massive tent hospital complex, was demonstrated last week at Mercy Clermont, to let people know what is available should a disaster strike.
“This is what we call the alternative care center,” said Clermont County Health Commissioner Marty Lambert. “It’s a portable unit we can set up anywhere in southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky or southeast Indiana. The entire unit that we own in this region is a 210 bed facility. What we have today is three of the 41 units we own.”
The giant, mobile facility is designed to handle a range of health emergencies. In a pinch, it can be used as overflow patient care for the hospital, simply housing patients, but is also capable of performing more emergency oriented uses. Lambert said that the facility is ready to be sent anywhere in the region, should a need arise, and will make quality health care service available in most conditions.