Houston May Dismantle $17M Unused Makeshift Hospital

A pop-up Houston hospital may be dismantled as early as next week since it is yet to be used, Fox News reports.

The 250-bed medical shelter located at NRG Park was built as a last resort to help hospitals from being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.

But the area hospitals haven’t hit capacity and cases seem to be declining, local news station KPRC reports. 

Harris County Commissioners may vote to shut it down completely next week. 

The medical shelter, which originally had a $60 million price tag, hasn’t been used.

The news station reports it  likely will end up costing $17 million. Local tax payers will probably be on the hook for a little over $4 million. The federal government plans to cover 75% of the bill. 

Before the field hospital deal was finalized, the news station reports Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said hospitals still were able to handle the patient load. 

But officials took extra caution and agreed to build the medical shelter. 

“We don’t want to be caught flat-footed," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told the news station at the time. "We are working to stay ahead of this.”

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