West Gym has been equipped with about a hundred cots that could be used for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center patients needing low-intensity care, in the event that the hospital needs to make more room for critically ill patients if there is a surge in COVID-19 cases.

To equip the space and plan for its possible use, Dartmouth administrators worked closely with D-H personnel, the regional Multi-Agency Coordinating Entity (MACE), and members of the New Hampshire National Guard, who moved cots into the gym on April 10. MACE manager Chris Christopolous, fire department chief in Lebanon, N.H., says medical equipment will not be added until the need is imminent.

“Everyone’s hoping that our social distancing efforts are working and that this space won’t be needed, but we are preparing it just in case,” says Josh Keniston, vice president for institutional projects and co-chair of Dartmouth’s COVID-19 Task Force.

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(Photos by Robert Gill)