SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont –
Disassembly of the Alternate Healthcare Facility (AHF) established in the Champlain Valley Exposition Center will begin on June 21, 2021.
The Vermont National Guard will store all modular components of the AHF on Camp Johnson, Colchester, Vt. for potential reuse when needed.
"Since the start of the pandemic, the Vermont National Guard has also been there for us -- for vaccinations, food distribution, building and maintaining medical surge sites or anything we have asked of them -- they have been there ready willing and able," said Vermont Governor Phil Scott. "On behalf of all Vermonters, I want to thank the Guard for their continued dedication to our state and communities."
Scott initially ordered construction of the AHF on March 31, 2020 to provide a 400 bed facility that could serve as a release valve for hospitals, allowing them to focus resources on patients who required higher levels of care, including COVID-19. The Vermont National Guard completed design and assembly of the facility in less than ten days, and went on to fully staff the AHF for several months.
“The ingenuity and resourcefulness of our members is inspiring,” said Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, adjutant general, Vermont National Guard. “With short notice and no template Soldiers, Airmen and state military department employees came together and executed a plan that would later become a best practice shared throughout the National Guard community.”
In the summer of 2020 the Vermont National Guard disassembled and stored all components of the AHF on Camp Johnson. Then, at the order of the Governor amid rising casing in the state, the Vermont National Guard reassembled the AHF in November 2020 to provide up to 250 beds. The facility has remained unstaffed but available to the state since then.
With vaccination rates for Vermonters over the age of 12 exceeding 80 percent, Scott lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on Monday. As a result of the decreased risk to exceeding intensive care unit capacity throughout the state, Scott determined the Vermont National Guard could once again disassemble and store all components.
The Vermont National Guard is working in support of Vermont Emergency Management, the Vermont Department of Health, Governor Scott’s office, and all emergency response personnel to support a whole-of-state approach. Vermont National Guard missions are in direct support of the Governor, the Vermont Department of Health and the Department of Emergency Management in combatting COVID-19. We will continue to share information when appropriate.