At the Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, New Jersey, there was a critical need.

The medical center needed to build a temporary facility to house COVID-19 patients, and they needed to build it fast. They turned to the federal government for help and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began a search for a capable contractor for a partner. In early April, USACE chose DynCorp International (DI) to meet New Bridge Medical Center’s rapid construction requirements.

DynCorp International built the 100-bed facility on a 14-day construction schedule.

“It is a source of pride to provide a rapid solution to assist the urgent medical needs of the state of New Jersey as they battle against the pandemic,” said Rob Tillery, DI’s senior vice president of Operations. DynCorp International is an aviation and logistics support services provider and has delivered mission readiness logistics services for more than 70 years.

In late April before the official opening, USACE Commanding General LTG Todd Semonite and local civic leaders toured the New Bridge COVID-19 Alternate Care Facility (ACF) site and were impressed with the quality of work being done.

A temporary facility built on a parking lot of the Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, the Alternate Care Facility (ACF) accommodated 100 ambulatory, non-acute COVID-19 patients to meet critical health care functions with an emphasis on patient isolation, infection control, fire protection and life safety. The medical center provided hospital staff and services to operate the alternate care facility.

In order to meet the short construction schedule, the USACE’s deliberate design build processes were merged with DI’s rapid response capabilities.

The combined efforts of USACE and DynCorp International served as a proof-of-principle for future execution of large-scale global combat operations to meet rapid construction requirements.

The Corps of Engineers estimated the project to cost $15 million to construct,” said Richard Hayes, DI’s project lead. “However, we completed the project well under budget.”

DynCorp International is no stranger to challenging rapid response projects. In 2017, DI built two temporary base operation camps on Puerto Rico to aid the U.S. Army North Joint Forces Land Component Command with disaster recovery after Hurricane Maria. With very little infrastructure and no established communications, DI completed the first 1,000 bed camp in just two weeks, and the second, 1,500 bed camp in ten days despite unforeseen site preparation due to swampy, overgrown ground conditions.

Then, after the temporary camps were completed, the USACE asked DI to help re-establish power to the island by providing material management and logistics services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Task Force Power Restoration project – a difficult mission that extended DI’s stay another 12 months. DI’s work ranged from providing daily warehouse support to USACE electrical contractors to managing secure 24/7 forward redistribution points and laydown yards.

In response to DI’s Puerto Rico program closeout, SSG John Butts, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Contracting Officer stated, “I wanted to thank you again for all your team has done on the entire mission. Since I have been here, it has made this a memorable experience and one to use as a measuring tool for the future.”