Tarlton and its design-build partners completed conversion of a Florissant, Missouri, hotel into an alternate health care facility for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to treat non-acute COVID-19 patients. Staffed my members of the Missouri National Guard, the facility was to serve as backup for patients referred by St. Louis-area hospitals. As of mid-May, 27 patients had been admitted.
More than 50 Tarlton employees worked on the project, which was completed in 3.5 days, yielding 120 patient rooms on the four floors of the 130-room hotel. The team built a nurse station on each floor and turned the existing phone system into a nurse call system. Beds and furniture were moved, with extra furniture put in temporary storage; PTAC units in rooms were inspected and repaired or replaced as necessary; hardware was changed on hotel room doors and bathroom doors to disable locks; and all rooms were deep cleaned. In 13 rooms, carpet was removed and walls and ceilings were painted.
Project scope also included steps to ensure proper ventilation for a patient care facility: inspection and cleaning of HVAC units; relocation of exhaust fans within 25 feet of HVAC intakes; extension of plumbing vents within 25 feet of HVAC intakes; and construction of isolation barriers in the corridors (three per floor) to separate the elevator/nurse station areas from the three patient wings.
Other members of the Tarlton design-build team were Ross & Baruzzini Inc. (architecture and engineering services), Rock Hill Mechanical Corp. and Guarantee Electrical Co.