photo: © FOTOBIA | www.fotobia.de, Stanimir Vlahovsky
Modern medical services for the civil-military sector
Our hospital has thankfully not yet received any patients!
How to create a coronavirus hospital knowing that it might never be used Albrecht Broemme was the President of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) from 2006 until his retirement in 2019. Previously, he was Regional fire director and Head of the Berlin fire brigade (1992-2006). In 2016, Mr Broemme was nominated as Special Representative and Special Envoy of the German
by Albrecht Broemme, former President of the German Disaster Relief Organisation (THW), Berlin
I
n March 2020, when the number of persons infected with the coronavirus started increasing in Berlin, the Senate of Berlin decided to build up additional capacities for people infected with Covid-19. The fear was that the city’s hospitals might be overwhelmed. It was decided to use one of Berlin’s newer exhibition halls with the advantages of excellent road connections and air supply ventilation and a solid concrete floor ensuring good hygiene measures.
Perfect planning and some adventure After only one week of planning, on 1st April, we entered the empty exhibition hall. The ventilation system had been cleaned and a total 4 km of traverses had been hung up high after the
Chancellor for the implementation of the EU’s Declaration with Turkey on Migration (until 2018). In April 2020, the Berlin Senate engaged Broemme to build in eight weeks a hospital able to receive, if necessary, 500 Covid-19 positive patients. In October 2020, President Steinmeier awarded him with the Federal Republic of Germany first class Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) for his life’s work and his commitment to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
cables, wires and pipes had been mounted on them. In the hall there was a central supply of oxygen, compressed air, light and electric power including Wi-Fi. It took five days to set up 12,000 m2 of floor with three layers: wooden panels, insulation and linoleum. We used three colours for the latter: green for general care, blue for special care and grey for corridors and secondary areas. Thereafter the “rooms” were built by exhibition stand construc→ Continued on page 46
The Corona Treatment Centre Berlin; view from above and inside
photos: Reiner Freese
45
