(WWJ) The fate of field hospitals dotted across metro Detroit to handle overflow patients from the coronavirus crisis is being questioned as expenses mount and the number of cases continues to fall.
Despite the fact it only houses a handful of coronavirus patients, the field hospital at Oakland County's Suburban Collection Showplace will remain in place, officials said. It's run at a cost of $1 million a month.
The field hospital opened on April 25 to help area hospitals address an expected overflow of COVID-19 patients with 250 beds ready and the ability to expand to another 800.
Currently, it houses five patients.
The TCF Center in downtown Detroit has much the same story; a large space with only one patient still being treated there as of Wednesday, according to Mayor Mike Duggan. It has announced plans to pause. A field hospital planned for Ann Arbor will also go on hiatus as the curve continues to flatten across Michigan.
It took 11 days to build the TCF Center by workers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan National Guard. It was staffed primarily with military-based medical personnel, with plans to add health care professionals as more patients were admitted. But that day hasn't come.
The number of COVID-19 deaths in Michigan increased by 44 on Tuesday for a new total of 4,179. Overall, there have been 44,397 diagnosed cases, with new numbers slowly decreasing day-by-day the last few weeks.
