Facilities teams work hard behind the scenes in COVID-19 battle

If you’ve been watching and reading news stories about COVID-19, chances are, you’ve seen many mentions of Augusta University and AU Health System. Our efforts to fight the virus and stay ahead of the curve help demonstrate the advantage of academic medicine at the state’s only public academic health center.

For example, AU Health mobilized the first drive-thru test site locally at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Not long after that, drive-thru testing was deployed at Patriots Park in Columbia County and outside the Emergency Department at AU Medical Center.

Four men stand at large blue tent — Augusta University Facilities Operations team members stand in front of a tent they erected for patient triage outside the AU Medical Center Emergency Department.

Large blue tent — Facilities team members set up this huge tent, added power and other vital equipment to assist clinicians with drive-thru testing at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

large blue tent with open doorway — Before the equipment is placed, you can see how large the tents are for the COVID-19 testing sites.

Construction worker — The hospital Facilities team renovated areas beside the main Emergency Department for COVID-19 patients.

Two employees, one on ladder with drill, the other holds wire — Facilities employees work to ready this room for its new occupants.

hospital room with negative pressure sign posted on window — Negative pressure rooms were created to prevent the virus from escaping through air vents to adjacent rooms.

Room with paint and primer on wall — Floors and walls were transformed to meet specific COVID-19 needs.

Man on ladder installing curtain in ceiling — A hospital Facilities employee hangs curtains in the new COVID-19 unit.

two men work inside glass doors of hospital room — Hospital Facilities teams pulled together a difficult project within weeks.

two men take apart shelving unit — University Facilities employees take a shelving unit apart for a student moving out of housing.

three men load a TV into black truck — Facilities employees help load heavy furnishings while assisting students moving out early due to COVID-19.

What you may not know, however, is that Augusta University’s Facilities Operations team performed the majority of tasks to set up these test sites, from erecting the large tents, stationing generators, running power cords, stringing lights and connecting air conditioning units and essential electronic equipment. The team also set up basic items like tables and chairs, and they created and posted directional signs to moderate traffic. Much of this work was done behind the scenes with no fanfare.

AU Facilities Operations also helped hundreds of Augusta University students during their unexpected “move-out” from Oak and Elm Halls due to COVID-19 prevention mandates from the University System of Georgia and the governor’s office. The team disassembled cabinets, shelves and other furniture and helped carry heavy items out of the buildings and load cars for students as needed.

In addition, if you saw the recent Augusta Chronicle article and video on the new COVID-19 unit inside the Emergency Department at AU Medical Center, those renovations were made possible by the hard work of the hospital Facilities team.

This group jumped in and converted the former blood bank and ED observation unit into a critical care unit for COVID-19 patients. One of the most important pieces to this project included creating negative pressure rooms that prevent the virus from escaping through air vents into other rooms. New hospital room construction often takes months, but the AU Health Facilities team worked round-the-clock to complete these units in mere weeks.

As we continue to salute #OurAUHeroes involved in direct patient care, we also want to recognize those working hard behind the scenes, including the team members in Facilities at Augusta University and AU Health.

If you have a recommendation for an individual or a team of employees who deserve to be recognized as #OurAUHeroes, please email the media relations team.