SLO County dismantles alternate care site at Cal Poly
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The COVID-19 alternate care site at Cal Poly is being dismantled, according to SLO County Public Health. The site will be returned to Cal Poly for use as an on-campus recreation center.
“We hoped we would never have to use the ACS but were prepared for the worst,” said Wade Horton, County Administrative Officer and Emergency Services Director. “It’s a relief to say that we no longer need an ACS for our community and that, even during the surge in COVID-19 cases here this past winter, our hospitals were able to provide the quality care our community members needed.”
The site was set up last year to relieve local hospitals by caring for patients who were too sick to care for themselves at home but did not need acute care at a hospital.
More than 250 Medical Reserve Corps volunteers were trained to staff the site and have since been utilized for a far brighter purpose – providing vaccines to their fellow community members.
The site was also used to store supplies, like ventilators and PPE, which were provided to hospitals as they battled the pandemic.
“The monumental effort that our community undertook to ‘stand up’ this site, in such a short amount of time, is astounding,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer. “And I would say it only pales in comparison to the work that our community did to slow the spread, and ensure we never had to use it.”
