A temporary field hospital is slated to open in Mississippi as a coronavirus wave persists.
University of Mississippi Medical Center expects to begin operating the federally staffed field hospital for COVID-19 patients Aug. 13, the Jackson-based academic health science center said in a news release.
The state-owned mobile hospital tent will be on the ground floor of a University of Mississippi Medical Center parking garage and can house up to 50 patient beds. Federal employees that include physicians, nurses, pharmacists and respiratory therapists will staff the field hospital.
"It will be substantial assistance," Jonathan Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, chief administrative officer of the medical center, said in the news release.
The federal help comes after a request by Mississippi officials to HHS. It also comes as the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 3,163 new positive COVID-19 cases on Aug. 11, among the state's highest one-day case counts since January, according to the Clarion Ledger.
University of Mississippi Medical Center said it is daily breaking its own record for patients admitted with a confirmed or suspected virus case. On Aug. 11, that number was 127, including 26 children.
Read more about the field hospital here. Read the Clarion Ledger's full report here.