In early March, Unity Health needed to convert a floor of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto into a screening, testing, and containment space for possible COVID-19 patients, and it needed the solution installed in a matter of days, not months or even weeks. So the hospital reached out to Astound Group Inc., an exhibit house with an office in Toronto, knowing that the trade show and events industry is used to rapidly cranking out creative solutions. As soon as Unity Health described its needs, Astound's design team swung into action, drawing up plans and pulling components from inventory.
Within 72 hours, Astound designed, deployed, and delivered a medical-grade solution for the health care team at St. Michael's Hospital. The end result entailed four testing rooms and several screening kiosks, using materials such as aluminum and polycarbonate, which are simple to work with and easy to clean. "Our business had revolved around the quick design, construction, and delivery of temporary solutions for events, and this application of temporary wall systems was a natural evolution," said Andrew Pittam, vice president of client services for Astound.
Since then, Astound has expanded its manufacturing capabilities in all of its offices and delivered more than 100 kiosks to hospitals and pharmacies in North America. And the company is working on details for outdoor assessment centers as well. Expanding outside of the health-care field, the exhibit house is fabricating Plexiglas dividers to protect employees and customers of essential businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations.

Astound has made its design solutions available and free to download from its website: www.astoundgroup.com/containment. "If we are to overcome this pandemic intact, we need to support one another and support the communities around us," Pittam said. "The primary goal we hope to achieve from sharing the plans is to encourage other businesses in the event industry to participate and contribute where they are able."