Herman Construction Group Builds Out 2 COVID Emergency Hospitals

Herman Construction Group announced today that it has completed several fast-track build-outs of COVID-19 emergency response field hospitals and surge hospitals in California, one in San Diego County and a second in Tulare County. The company began the projects early in April and completed both within two weeks.

The projects included a build-out of the 203-bed Federal Medical Station (FMS) at Palomar Medical Center Escondido and construction of a 246-bed Alternate Care Facility (ACF) at the Porterville Developmental Center in Tulare County for the state and federal government. The Alternative Care Facility will care for non-COVID-19 patients who are less sick, allowing hospitals to treat more severe cases. The projects add nearly 450 hospital beds to the state’s inventory to treat COVID-19.

Herman Construction Group is a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Diego with extensive experience with labs, clean rooms, and medical health facilities. The company has a long-standing relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency that helped to expedite both hospital projects.

“We completed both of these emergency turnaround projects on an accelerated time frame; what would normally take us weeks took days,” said Lars Herman, CEO of Herman Construction Group. “They will both function as community-wide resources in order to add more hospital beds to the state’s inventory.”

Palomar Medical Center

Herman Construction Group’s retrofit of The Palomar Medical Center Field Hospital included a build-out of floors 10 and 11, the top two floors of the hospital. These floors, each containing 24,000 square feet, have remained vacant to allow space to grow with the community when needed. The $3 million project supports the local health care system by providing additional beds for medical care in San Diego County.

Herman Construction Group brought in basic utilities to the space, including plumbing, mechanical and electrical infrastructure. They also provided services for framing, drywall, paint, fire protection, and floor coverings.

Porterville Developmental Center

Herman Construction Group also completed the $2 million design-build construction of an Alternate Care Facility (ACF) at The Porterville Developmental Center in Tulare County.

The Center is part of an 80-year-old campus that serves those with developmental or intellectual disabilities and is scheduled to close in late 2021. A half dozen unoccupied buildings, which have stood vacant on the PDC campus for over 25 years, were retrofitted by Herman Construction Group for the COVID-19 ACF.

Herman Construction Group retrofitted buildings 23, 25, 29, 31, 33, and 34, each containing 18,000 square feet, bringing in the utilities and making sure the buildings are ready for usage. Utilities included water, electric, HVAC, telecommunications/internet connectivity and fire protection.

Other services for the ACF included repair of roof leaks, replacement of various water closet fixtures and refurbishment of some toilet rooms. Herman Construction Group also repaired the existing HVAC system, inspected all electrical outlets and lighting fixtures for functionality and needed repair, and tested existing fire alarm systems to make sure they meet NFPA requirements.

About Herman Construction Group

Herman Construction Group is a commercial and governmental general contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. The company also has offices in Northern California, Arizona, and Washington DC. Herman Construction Group builds projects throughout the United States. The company’s broad mix of services includes healthcare, schools & universities, technology, corporate campuses, environmental construction, historical preservation, military and government. The company also performs multi-year contracts for various governmental clients, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Department of the Navy (NAVFAC) and the U.S. Department of the Air Force.