Hospital infrastructure continues to be a concern for state health officials amid the coronavirus pandemic, but a company based in Clifton Park is looking to step in to help alleviate some of the expected pressure.
“We are here and we are ready to help in this time of crisis. We have a talented team right here in New York that wants to get back to work,” said COO of Creatacor Will Farmer.
The company employs nearly 50 employees who specialize in exhibit design and fabrication. Like most right now, they’re out of work, deemed a nonessential business as a state tries to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
While away from the office the group has been working at home, trying to come up with ways to help, and get back to work. They’ve developed a plan to design and build temporary hospital beds and patient rooms.
“Our experience designing and fabricating unique structures is perfectly suited for this because we’re used to doing this in short time frames,” said Farmer.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state will likely need 140,000 beds or more as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rise. There are only about 60,000 beds ready right now.
The team at Creatacor is already working with prototypes that will be easy to transport store and assemble for medical personnel across the state.
“The plan is to make it out of HDPE, high density polyethylene, which would be solid plastic, no tools required,” said Creatacor CEO Gerry Glynn. “One sheet equals one bed, we can stack them up and ship them out.”
A cost per bed has yet to be determined but the company has been in contact with state leaders and FEMA in an effort to get the green light to start building.
“They can be assembled on-site with no tools. We can add casters, remove casters change the height customize the piece to whatever the needs are for the facility,” said Glynn.