How an Army Reserve Engineer Supports COVID-19 Response Efforts in Wisconsin

416th Theater Engineer Command
Published April 27, 2020
How an Army Reserve engineer supports COVID-19 response efforts

Lt. Col. Robert Mikyska, with the 647th Regional Support Group, activates in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Chicago District construction of an Alternate Care Facility (ACF) at the Wisconsin State Fair Park and Exposition Center in West Allis, Wis. He is responsible for Quality Assurance and Quality Control of the project construction design.

Lt. Col. Robert Mikyska, with the 647th Regional Support Group, activates in support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Chicago District construction of an Alternate Care Facility (ACF) at the Wisconsin State Fair Park and Exposition Center in West Allis, Wisconsin. He is responsible for Quality Assurance and Quality Control of the project construction design.

“I went to Milwaukee for the kick-off and then went through the whole process," said Mikyska. "We built a fully functioning hospital, with hard-line oxygen, hard-stand showers, latrines and patient areas, which are basically cubicles, in nine days.” The ACF is designed with 500 beds - 250 beds with hard-line oxygen and another 250 with bottle oxygen.

An ACF is a facility that is temporarily converted for health care use during a public emergency to reduce the burden on hospitals and established medical facilities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services compiled the materials to support state and municipalities in creating an ACF to support their medical requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.