June 2021 | Vol. 21 Iss. 06 factory seconds blowout!
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EXPO CENTER IN SANDY PLAYED MAJOR ROLE IN COMMUNITY’S PANDEMIC RESPONSE
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727 E 9400 S, SANDY UT, 84094
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By Heather Lawrence | h.lawrence@mycityjournals.com
T
he Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy played a major role in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility was set up as an overflow hospital in spring and summer 2020, used as a recruitment center for vaccine trials and became a vaccination administration location in January 2021. “When you look at the resources you have in a community, it’s always important to have a facility like the expo center available because it’s so versatile and it’s very large,” said Joe Dougherty with the Utah Department of Public Safety. Dougherty is a spokesperson for the state’s COVID-19 response team. The expo center, located at 9575 S. State St., is owned by Salt Lake County. With 260,000 square feet of available space, it’s hosted the Festival of Trees, the Days of ’47 Float preview, home improvement expos, dance recitals, sporting good shows and gem sales, and the Utah Bar exam. “When we were preparing for the pandemic and possible high case numbers, we looked at a worst case scenario. We needed somewhere we could possibly transfer patients from a traditional hospital to a field hospital,” Dougherty said. The contingency hospital was set up from April until July 2020. After that, the materials including cots and medical supplies were packed up and stored on site. Dougherty said if the need arose, the hospital could be reassembled and ready within 12 hours. Thankfully, even when hospital capacity in Utah was at The Utah Health Department stated that over 106,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to residents at the expo center in its peak in November and December 2020, the overflow site Sandy since January. (Heather Lawrence/City Journals) never needed to be used. Continued page 5
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