COVID-19 Surge Capacity Solutions: Our Experience of Converting a Concert Hall into a Temporary Hospital for Mild and Moderate COVID-19 Patients

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has stressed the health care system in Italy as well as around the world, with hospitals implementing their surge capacity to increase the number of available beds for patients positive to the virus. At the end of March, the Piemonte (Northern Italy) Government decided to build a temporary rapid-assembly emergency hospital for the treatment of mild and moderate COVID-19 patients, converting an existing concert hall in the city of Turin. The decision was prompted not only by the urgent need of hospital beds, but also by a forward-looking approach for the months immediately after the emergency, when it will be essential for conventional hospitals to return to a normal configuration. This paper documents the temporary hospital project, describing the site, the layout and the equipment, the idea behind structural choices, and the staff involved. The aim of the work is to share the experience and to provide some practical recommendations to other professionals who are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.