The Westwood Mall in Marquette Township was among local sites inspected as a potential alternate health care location. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — UPHS-Marquette, the Marquette County Health Department and the Marquette County Emergency Management Department have been preparing for the potential local spread of COVID-19 by determining possible alternate care sites and quarantine sites, in addition to other measures.

“Alternate care sites would be locations at which additional hospital beds can be established to provide direct medical care in the event that hospitals exceed capacity,” MCHD Director of Environmental Health Patrick Jacuzzo said in an email. “Local health care providers would be the lead in operational management and staffing of an ‘alternate care site.’ MCHD would be an assisting partner at these locations.”

On Monday, the collaborating agencies along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspected potential alternate care sites in Marquette, including an area in the Westwood Mall and the former Father Marquette School, said Emergency Management Program coordinator Teresa Schwalbach.

The former Gander Mountain location and a space on the Northern Michigan University campus were also discussed. Local officials are awaiting a recommendation from the Army Corps of Engineers before establishing a site, she noted.

“We’re just being proactive and planning ahead in case it happens. So if and when it does, we’re ready to go,” Schwalbach said.

The agencies are also working to establish potential quarantine “shelter” locations, Jacuzzo said.

“These locations would be temporary housing facilities that would be used to isolate specific individuals — whom lack their own housing — as medically indicated as requiring observation for symptoms, or isolation, due to a specific diagnosis of COVID-19,” he said.

In planning quarantine locations, the MCHD is coordinating with property owners to reserve space and develop contractual agreements.

“Should an isolation or quarantine of individuals occur, MCHD’s role would be to provide patient contact for symptom observation, and tracking, data collection and reporting for individuals throughout the course of their illness,” Jacuzzo said.

One of these quarantine sites may be the My Place Hotel located on U.S. 41 in Marquette, Schwalbach said.

In a Community Town Hall UPHS-Marquette CEO and UPHS Market President Gar Atchison posted on YouTube Tuesday, Atchison stated that the hospital currently has a daily phone call with the health department following its command center meetings to coordinate their efforts.

In collaboration with the health department, UPHS-Marquette is also preparing a public announcement for some time this week, Atchison said.

Marquette County Emergency Management is taking other measures to prepare for the potential COVID-19 outbreak.

“We in emergency management, we are tasked with filling in the requests from emergency medical places — which is hospitals, medical care centers, long term care facilities, law enforcement, fire, municipalities — anything that they need during COVID as far as supplies to protect their staff and their residents, so that’s our role at this point,” Schwalbach said.

It is also working to set up a central donation site where those who may have personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks can drop off items.

Emergency management is tracking all COVID-19 related expenses so that when federal assistance or reimbursement becomes available they will be ready, Schwalbach said.

“We’re working on thinking ahead of what we’re going to need and planning for that,” she said.

Trinity Carey can be reached at tcarey@miningjournal.net.