St. Louis-area hotel to be Missouri’s first site for handling COVID-19 case surge.

A hotel in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant will serve as Missouri’s first site to provide additional beds for COVID- 19 patients, Gov. Mike Parson announced Wednesday.

It is expected to be operational in less than a week.

“Right now, Missouri is in a good place,” Parson said of the state’s hospital capacity. “However, I want to assure you that we do have a plan in place.”

State officials did not offer the name or exact location of the hotel, or describe what work is necessary to convert it into an alternative care site. Construction is expected to begin this weekend, Brig. Gen. Levon Cumpton, adjunct general of the Missouri National Guard, said.

There had been discussion that Missouri, like some other states, would designate a large sports arena to handle patient overflow. Todd Richardson, director of MO HealthNet, the state’s Medicaid program, said the hotel is a better fit.

“It will allow the state to move more quickly,” he said. “It is a model that can be scaled as need arises and it is a model that can be used to support care delivery across our state.”

Officials said Florissant met three major requirements. It is an area with potential need for additional beds, sufficient space and available utilities to start immediate construction. Since the state is under a federal disaster declaration, FEMA will pay for 75% of the cost for construction and care.

“We are working these sites in order of anticipated need as identified by the communities being supported,” Cumpton said.

Missouri is expected to see it’s peak of COVID-19 cases in late April, according to updated predictions from researchers at the University of Washington. There isn’t a shortage of hospital or ICU beds in these predictions, however, that’s assuming full compliance with social distancing orders until May.

This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 6:50 PM.