Alternate COVID-19 care site planned at Nashville hospital

Tennessee officials say they have finalized plans to set up an alternate care site for COVID-19 at Metro Nashville General Hospital.

Gov. Bill Lee’s office says the site will be a “hospital within a hospital model,” designed to activate and deactivate quickly if needed.

State Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey says she hopes the facility won’t need to be activated, but it will remain on standby.

The site includes two hospital floors, totaling almost 26,300 square feet, and provides 67 extra individual bed spaces to treat COVID-19 patients if the region begins to exceed existing hospital capacity.