Coronavirus: Alternate care facility opens at Pasadena Convention Center

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A coronavirus treatment alternate care facility has opened at the Pasadena Convention Center in coordination with Huntington Hospital.

With mass gatherings currently a thing of the past, the Pasadena Convention Center was sitting empty, so the City of Pasadena found a new use for it. It is being transformed into a COVID-19 treatment facility.

Inside the convention center are 250 individual rooms standing by in case Pasadena sees a surge in COVID-19 cases. The rooms have a cot, chairs and outlets for electronic devices.

The alternative care facility will be staffed by doctors and nurses from Huntington Hospital. It was designed for COVID-19 patients who are not suffering serious side effects from the virus.

It's a "compliant facility that FEMA has sanctioned as a place that we can bring patients that are non-acute or sub-acute, just that need to be treated, maybe observed and then sent home. It doesn't take the place of the hospital, but it's a really good alternative for them to use in case they have a surge of patients that don't necessarily need a hospital bed, but just need some sort of care," said Interim Chief Bryan Frieders with the Pasadena Fire Department.

If someone at the alternate care facility develops serious COVID-19 symptoms, they would be transferred to a local hospital.

Officials say the site is ready as soon as the surge happens.