In April, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced plans to build an alternative care facility inside the Exposition Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, WI. With its warehouse located three miles away in nearby Milwaukee, Derse Inc., a full-service exhibit house, was asked to design and install the temporary 530-room hospital.
Used to working in an industry that demands creative designs and tight deadlines, Derse dove in. The company sourced the necessary medical-grade materials and fabricated the PVC-encased panel walls quickly by tapping several of its divisional facilities. Once the materials were prepared, they were shipped to the fairgrounds where Derse and Sho-Link Inc., a national trade show service and labor cooperative, began installing the 10-by-10-foot patient-care rooms. Once started, the project was complete in less than eight days and prepared to treat coronavirus patients. In total, more than 100 workers across multiple shifts were engaged each day to complete the project.

"Our employees worked tirelessly to support this urgent need," said Brett Haney, Derse CEO. "The trade show industry has been hit hard by the impact of COVID-19. With our exhibit fabrication work on pause, we see an opportunity to offer our unique expertise to rapidly deploy and install temporary structures. We know the logistics, manpower, and effort it takes to deliver an initiative at this scale. Our production crews were ready to hit the ground running and tackle this important project."

Derse, along with a variety of exhibit builders and service providers across the country through the Live for Life COVID-19 Coalition, are stepping up to support FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and local and state agencies to help others get through this health crisis with temporary hospitals and testing centers. "Fortunately, the spread of COVID-19 has slowed so there is less urgency to build additional facilities at this time," said Julia Haas, marketing director for Derse, "but we're ready and able to support our communities when they need us."