NJ Goes All Out to Prepare for COVID-19 Surge That’s About to Hit

In something resembling a military operation, the state is on high alert, scrambling to add critical-care beds and ready pop-up field hospitals

By Lilo H. Stainton, NJ Spotlight

After weeks of planning and preparations, New Jersey is now ready to activate its hospital-capacity contingency plans, as facilities in the northern counties are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by a surge of patients with COVID-19.

State officials are preparing to shift patients with more limited clinical needs from existing hospitals to the new “field medical station” set up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Meadowlands in order to make room for individuals who need critical care; the field station, in Secaucus, is expected to start accepting patients Monday. Newark’s University Hospital, the region’s Level 1 trauma center, will oversee the field station and transport the patients by ambulance or air, if needed.

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