A push by the state of California to mitigate overwhelming demand on the state’s hospitals and intensive care units has yielded additional field triage centers, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced during his daily briefing Monday.
California’s Office of Emergency Services already began the process of opening eight triage centers – including one in Fresno County, located at the Fresno Convention Center.
Now, it appears two new triage centers will open.
During his briefing at the former Sleep Train Arena in the Sacramento suburb of Natomas, Newsom announced that Porterville Developmental Center would be converted into a 246-bed triage center.
That bed count matches the amount of FEMA beds being supplied to the Fresno Convention Center.
Meanwhile, Kern County Public Health began providing preliminary information that the Kern County Fairgrounds would serve as the Golden Empire’s triage center.
Along with staffing from neighboring hospitals, Newsom said these triage centers will utilize staffing from the newly-established California Health Corps, a state-backed consortium of doctors, nurses, administrators, and behavioral health officials.