Worcester Field Hospital reopening and including amenities to help patients deal with loneliness

WORCESTER, Mass. — A field hospital at Worcester’s DCU Center reopened Sunday morning.

“Unfortunately, we’re back in this place, but we’re here to serve,” said Peter Lancette, Associate Chief Nursing Officer of Field Hospital Operations. “We’re here to decompress the hospitals so we can continue with our outpatient and elective procedures.”

Lancette said the field hospital will start with 25 patients on its first day of opening. It will increase capacity gradually by 25 patients.

The facility was the first of five field hospitals to open in the spring. The state reported 161 patients were treated at the Worcester field hospital over the course of about two months.

Health leaders expect even more patients to be treated at the DCU Center this time around.

“We’re anticipating that we’re going to be a little bit busier this time just because our mission is a little bit different,” Lancette said. “Our mission is so that hospitals can remain open to outpatients and those procedures that were shut down the first go around.”

Lancette said this time around, the field hospital is equipped with approximately 215 beds. Each room is decorated with artwork created by students from all across Central Massachusetts.

In addition to the medical equipment and amenities needed to care for patients, the Worcester facility also has some new features aimed at helping patients deal with loneliness and isolation they often feel during treatment since no visitors are allowed.

“We realized last time our patients here like to get up, like to walk around and socialize with their fellow patients,” Lancette said.

“These patients are already COVID positive, so a lot of the infection control concerns are mitigated with that, so we created some patient care areas where patients can sit, watch TV, play board games. We have exercise equipment in here so as they recover they can strengthen.”

Some health care workers at the DCU Center in the spring have returned to help battle the second surge.

Others, like Jane Dylewicz, came from as far away as Florida. For her, this chance to help is also a homecoming.

“It’s my old stomping ground, I actually grew up here,” said Dylewicz. “This is my first time at the DCU, so it’s nice to be home and to be a part of something bigger.”

Boston 25 News had the chance to speak to some of the health care workers before the field hospital began accepting patients at 7 a.m. Sunday. They hope people who aren’t following protocols start taking the pandemic seriously.

“Some people just don’t want to wear a mask, it’s simple, just wear a mask, and we wouldn’t have to be here,” said Adelyne Cadet, a certified nursing assistant with UMass Memorial. “Unfortunately, cases are still on the rise, and we’re right here to help everybody so we can put down the curve again.”

Governor Charlie Baker announced a second field hospital will open in Lowell sometime before Christmas, and a third field hospital will likely be built after that.

“We are having conversations in the Southeast as to whether we should plan for one down in the South Coast area,” said Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “We are not at this point, at this time, planning on one in Boston.”

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