How Hendricks Regional Health Created 43 Isolation Rooms in Just Weeks
When patient demand surged, Hendricks Regional Health rapidly transformed existing spaces into isolation-ready environments using reusable temporary wall systems.
Hendricks Regional Health is a county-owned, 160-bed hospital serving Danville, Indiana. In March 2020, the hospital became the first facility in the state to treat a COVID-19 patient. As demand for isolation space grew rapidly, facility leaders needed a way to create safe, compliant patient environments throughout the hospital—without the delays associated with traditional construction.
What followed was a rapid-response effort that transformed existing spaces into 43 negative air isolation rooms in just a matter of weeks.
Challenge
When the hospital's first COVID-19 patient arrived, Director of Engineering Troy Tucker immediately mobilized his team. Within 48 hours, they repurposed an unused building across the street from the hospital and converted two exam rooms into negative air treatment spaces.
As concerns about the pandemic grew, requests for additional isolation spaces began arriving from across the facility. Hospital leadership needed solutions for patient rooms, emergency care areas, intensive care units, and support spaces—often with little notice.
Traditional approaches using steel studs, drywall, and plastic containment barriers would have taken too long to deploy and created additional waste.
Tucker remembered seeing STARC Systems used during an occupied renovation project months earlier and realized the same solution could support infection-control efforts.
"We kind of fell in love with the idea of the product and realized it could be used just as well for isolation as for renovation. It's a pretty nice product and the future of infection control."
One of the team's first major challenges was converting eight ICU rooms into negative air environments. With multiple negative air machines operating in close proximity, the containment solution needed to remain stable, durable, and secure.
"It was important that the wall system solution was durable, anchorable and can't flex or fail. It could kill someone. The STARC walls didn't flinch."
When hospital leadership saw how quickly the ICU isolation spaces were deployed, expectations quickly changed.
"When the staff came to see the solution implemented, it very quickly went from 'I think this will work' to 'this should be the expectation' to 'this is now the new norm'. If you were able to pull off this miracle in a couple of hours, surely you can do it in the emergency room too."
The team also needed to create multiple anterooms throughout the hospital for PPE application and removal.
According to Regulatory Compliance Specialist Kelly, the ability to quickly create donning and doffing rooms proved critical during the response effort.
"What was so important with the STARC walls was how quickly and easily we were able to create donning and doffing rooms and the physicians were blown away."
Solution
Over the course of just a few weeks, Hendricks Regional Health created 43 negative air isolation rooms by repurposing existing spaces throughout the hospital.
ICU: 8 rooms
PACU: 24 rooms
Emergency Department: 7 rooms
Long-Term Care Unit: 4 rooms
The spaces remained in place to support future infection-control needs and surge-capacity planning.
Tucker credits the containment system as a significant contributor to the hospital's response efforts.
"I attribute 20% of my team's overall pandemic response success directly to the STARC wall system because of the speed of deployment, the fact that it's cleanable, and how stable it is. It's almost near earthquake-proof – those panels haven't moved a micron. It's remarkable how durable it is, and the doors are so solid."
Results
Ultimately, the hospital's facilities team was responsible for helping protect staff while supporting the organization's pandemic response. During a period when hundreds of COVID-19 patients were treated at the hospital and more than 100 nurses provided care, the team successfully expanded isolation capacity throughout the facility while maintaining safe working environments.
Reflecting on the experience, Tucker emphasized the impact the response effort had on both the organization and his team.
"That shook me to my core, and we were very fortunate to have the results that we had. While it was a physically and mentally exhausting experience for my team to go through, we sort of obtained a heroic status among hospital staff for pulling off miracles with which everybody was impressed."
The project demonstrated how quickly healthcare facilities can adapt existing spaces when equipped with flexible, reusable containment systems. What began as an emergency response effort became a model for creating isolation environments, supporting infection-control protocols, and expanding operational capacity without the delays associated with traditional construction.
Built for Healthcare's Unexpected Moments
From emergency response to planned renovations, discover how reusable containment solutions help healthcare teams adapt quickly while maintaining patient and staff safety.
