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Hospital Built At Central Coast Federal Prison Hard-Hit By Coronavirus Set To Open Wednesday

An improvised hospital is set to open at a federal prison complex on the Central Coast, which has been hard hit by coronavirus.

The Lompoc federal prison complex has had the largest concentration of coronavirus cases on the Central Coast, with more than 100 inmates and dozens of employees infected.

To better handle cases onsite, an old abandoned factory at the complex has been converted into a hospital.

The existing floors and wall coverings had to be replaced, ducts and power lines were upgraded, and other parts of the building rebuilt. The unit includes ten double occupancy acute care treatment rooms.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has also brought in doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel to staff the unit, which is set to begin operation Wednesday.

The new facility will allow the treatment of infected people onsite, taking away the additional threat of moving them to hospitals in the community.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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