Transforming a New York university soccer field into a temporary hospital

New York has been one of the worst affected states in the US, and therefore surge capacity was urgently needed to ensure adequate medical provision for residents. The location selected for the temporary hospital was a soccer field located at an Ivy League University in New York City which did not have the power infrastructure in place to support a facility on the scale required for the medical facility.

Working alongside partners, Aggreko was tasked with designing and delivering a temporary power solution which meant that the COVID-19 Alternate Care Facility would be able to accept patients as quickly as possible.

Given that the facility would be supporting critically unwell patients, the need for reliable power 24 hours a day was absolutely vital. The team were contacted by a large electrical contractor in early April to help design and execute a temporary power solution, which could handle this power demand.

Aggreko put in place a bespoke solution which was designed with the facility’s specific needs in mind. It involved a 3X 500 kW power solution set up in load on demand, switchgear and miles of 4/0 cable.

Through fully understanding the customer’s needs and initially putting the power solution in place, Aggreko expanded the brief to include the fuel management service and standby temporary cooling.

This rapid transformation project was a collaborative effort between Aggreko, a key electrical contractor, and a strategic general contractor. It resulted in the provision of reliable power and cooling for a piece of critical infrastructure.The project is testament to the power of teamwork and clear, concise communication.

By working alongside our partners, we were able to ensure the COVID-19 Alternate Care Facility was ready to accept and treat patients within eight days, providing the health service in New York with much needed capacity at a time when it was under extreme pressure.