Emergency Medical Unit Set Up At Vista East During Coronavirus

WAUKEGAN, IL — An international relief agency Friday deployed emergency medical field units, personal protective equipment and volunteer medical professionals outside Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan to help treat COVID-19 patients.

Set up and staffed by the nonprofit International Medical Corps and financed by the North Chicago-based pharmaceutical company AbbVie, the new field hospital will be used to expand triage capabilities, improve the flow of patients at the hospital and keep patients infected with the new coronavirus away from other patients, according to a news release.

The nonprofit is providing four to six volunteer clinicians to augment existing staff and alleviate the strain on Vista's workforce. The tents will be set up with 20 beds and arranged based on patient needs, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Erected in six hours and capable of withstanding winds of up to 80 mph, the Waukegan field hospital is the agency's first in the Chicago area, according to the Corps. A second is planned for UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial in Harvey.

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International Medical Corps has already established emergency units in Los Angeles, New York City, Detroit and two cities in Puerto Rico. The group plans to ramp up to a total of 20 deployments. Supplies and operating expenses are being picked up by Abbvie as part of a $35 million pledge to support COVID-19 relief efforts globally.

In additional to activating a volunteer roster of almost 300 medical professionals, the nonprofit is training existing hospital staff on responses, preparedness and mental health needs. It is also offering online webinars addressing the pandemic.

As of Friday, there were 1,932 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lake County. Seventy residents had died, according to the Lake County Health Department.

There were 449 confirmed cases in Waukegan's 60085 ZIP code — the most of in the state — 129 in North Chicago's 60064 and 125 in Beach Park's 60087, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.