YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Covelli Centre is selected by the state to serve as a field hospital for recovering coronavirus patients or patients who need moderate acute care.

The announcement came from Mercy Health Youngstown late Monday afternoon.
The hospital system is partnering with the National Guard to build out the medical care site, which typically takes about two weeks to complete.

Valley Congressman Tim Ryan held a virtual press conference to detail the federal assistance.

The plan is to have the field hospital built and fully operational within two to three weeks from now.

"I don't think anyone is fully prepared to deal with what is happening here given this pandemic. But I believe that Mercy Health has our Valley very, very well positioned to be able to absorb some of the peak that may come," Ryan said.

Coronavirus patients who need moderate acute care or who do not need a ventilator would be put inside the downtown Youngstown site.

"What we're noticing clinically, is that these patients are very sick when they come to the hospital. A lot of them do go to the ICU, and their length of stay both in the ICU, their length of stay on the ventilators, and their length of stay in the hospital is longer than we see with other patients," said Dr. James Kravec, Mercy Health Chief Clinical Officer.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine provided a list of convention centers across the state that will be used to help essentially double hospital capacity in the state should cases of the virus start to overwhelm the system.

It's estimated a total of 250 beds will be set up inside the Covelli Centre. It's much-needed space, according to doctors on the frontlines.

"There's a certain type of patient after they've recovered from COVID after they get off the ventilator, or after they recover from the worst part of it, there may be a delay in sending those patients back to home, or if they came from a nursing home, back there," Kravec said.

The Valley has the highest rate of positive coronavirus cases in the state to date.

Mercy Health doctors and support staff from the hospital and its physician group, Ohio National Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, will operate the site and provide care at the Covelli Centre.

Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency, along with other local and county officials, have worked collaboratively with Mercy Health to get the response organized.

Sharon Regional and Trumbull Regional Medical Centers started gathering ventilators and personal protective equipment a month ago.

A significant amount of those resources remain centralized that can be shared among its health system when needed.

And Salem Regional Hospital is expanding its ten-bed Intensive Care Unit, adding 26 more beds in two other units to offer care.