May 19, 2020
The Joint Hopkins Maryland Federal Medical Station, a 250-bed unit inside Baltimore’s convention center, opened on April 27 for non-critical patients recovering from COVID-19. Dr. James Ficke, the Station’s director, talks with Stephanie Desmon about how his experience standing up combat hospitals in northern Iraq prepared him, the influx of patients they’re seeing, and what it takes to set up a fully operational contingency hospital with food, bathrooms, showers, and even its own pharmacy.