By R.V. Baugus
The Jacob K. Javits Center has been in the national news with construction of a temporary medical station to house non-COVID-19 patients and relieve the burden on local hospitals.
The venue sent out a tweet on Thursday morning that reads, Our workforce constructs extraordinary events and 
exhibits throughout the year, but this is the first time we’re building a medical facility inside our halls. We’re honored to help New Yorkers in need during this global crisis. #covid19
By this time next week, the 1.8 million square-feet venue will include a 1,000-bed medical station for non-COVID-19 cases and overseen by more than 300 federal workers.
“I want to thank (IAVM member) Alan Steele, who runs this convention center,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said during a March 23 press conference. “He has put on many shows before, and his team is very adaptable, but this is the first time they have ever built a hospital inside the Javits Center.”
The addition is called the New York Medical Station at the Javits Center and serves as an overflow hospital to treat non-COVID-19 illnesses. In all, there will be four separate 250-bed facilities to help with the overflow from the escalating cases in the City.
The help from the convention center comes at a time when it is undergoing a massive expansion and renovation that actually should help once the temporary medical stations are erected, as will upgrades made during the last major expansion in 2014 that included a better lighting system and new mechanical systems to reduce noise and improve air quality.
It also helps that the Javits Center has enormous loading docks that will allow for moving in freight in rapid turnarounds.
When all is complete, an additional 2,000 beds will be onsite to ease the strain of New York’s overtaxed hospitals receiving patients in large numbers.
