PHOENIX — The Army Corps of Engineers has eight days to meet their deadline to have the old St. Luke’s hospital operational.
On Friday, Colonel Daryll Fust said they plan to hand over the keys on May 3 to the state, if they choose to open it for additional capacity.
The Colonel tells ABC15 that they have been working on getting the building operational by working on plumbing, replacing fixtures, and doing utility work.
According to the governor this week, the state has resource capacity at this time, but they’re still moving forward in case of the worse case scenario projections.
“It really doesn’t matter if we need it or not, the whole idea is being prepared,” said Colonel Fust.
ABC15 asked the state health department what the trigger point will be to open the extra hospital, but they would only say that they’re moving forward with a scalable plan to open it when feasible.
It’s unclear if other hospitals will have to hit full capacity before it’s used.
Colonel Fust said they are only getting the building ready, it will be up to the state on what to do with the inside.
