Georgia company turns used shipping containers into hospital beds

Former storage trailers turn into ICU rooms

A Gwinnett County company is converting former storage trailers into ICU rooms

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - As the coronavirus continues to spread, hospitals across the country are running low on space. A Gwinnett County company has found a way to turn used shipping containers into hospital rooms.

CEO of BMarko Structures, Antony Kountouris, is used to building modular homes and businesses fast. Now he's using those same skills to make patient rooms.

Kountouris says when he started seeing the need for extra room at hospitals, he knew he could help. He worked out a contract with GEMA, leased a warehouse in Lawrenceville and hired 80 contractors all in under two weeks. Time is crucial. They're working 17 hour days, 7 days a week.

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"No one has has worked together, but it feels like we've been working together for years because we all have something that bonds us which is COVID-19," said Kountouris.

In less than a week they can build a pod, with 4 patient rooms, including bathrooms, connected by a corridor.

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"We put in a lot of effort into the project and we're going to have a great product at the end of it that is actually going to save somebody's life," said Marcus Cooley who was hired to be part of this project.

The first hospital rooms are being shipped to Phoebe Putney Hospital in Albany this week.

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Know how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting Georiga

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least twenty seconds.

• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Stay home when you are sick.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces

RESOURCES:

Symptoms, testing and how to prepare amid growing COVID-19 outbreak