Overview
Anderson Lock supplied doors / frames and hardware, as well as keying services, and fast turnaround deliveries for this critical Alternate Care Facility during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chicago.
Chicago’s McCormick Place is the nation’s largest convention center. Transforming it into an Alternate Care Facility for COVID-19 positive patients took an immense effort, led by a 3-star general whose jobs have included building up the Afghan police and armed forces, and helping states recover after devastating hurricanes. Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers, led the creation of a 3,000 bed field hospital for COVID-19 patients, in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health, Walsh Construction, and countless material and equipment suppliers, including Anderson Lock.
Because of the high numbers of infected people, the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus, and its long-lingering recovery time, this alternate care facility is being constructed for patients who are “deemed appropriate to leave the hospital, but not quite ready to go home.” It is one of several new facilities being built to relieve overburdened area hospitals.
This pop-up place, which is not a complete hospital, is retrofitted into McCormick Halls A, B and C, for different levels of the illness. The metal-braced walls are the same as vendors use during trade shows. It is open for patients, while still being completed in phases.
Walsh Construction, consistently listed as an industry leader in a variety of markets, is our country’s fourth-largest healthcare builder. Three Walsh project managers, working in the three different halls at McCormick Place, contacted Anderson Lock Project Manager, Luisa Casale, to place orders for doors / frames and hardware. Every order demanded our highest priority handling and fastest turnaround times possible.
Anderson Lock’s immense Door Division warehouse is well-stocked with products designed for commercial applications, like the Falcon SZ Series flush, fire-rated doors, Steelcraft frames, Norton door closers, Alarm Lock Trilogy DL2700 standalone keypad locks, and Von Duprin exit devices required for the Support Service Areas, including satellite pharmacies, electrical rooms and a paired opening for a loading dock. [The temporary patient rooms were constructed differently and were not a part of the materials Anderson Lock supplied.]
Luisa, working from home during this ‘sheltering-in-place’ time, worked with Anderson Lock’s Shop Manager, Glenn Franger, Purchasing Manager Jeffery Glaister, and Door Division Manager Devin Wascher to keep the multiple orders from Walsh Construction on the fast track. Our fast, accurate response is how we earned our reputation as a “trusted source for security door hardware and a reliable resource for expert technical advice.”
“With the fast paced turnover of the project, Anderson Lock was able to get doors and hardware fabricated and delivered in a timeframe that exceeded our expectations and helped us meet the deadline goals we committed to. Anderson Lock was a great partner on this project and we look forward to future projects together.”
–Deanna Goodman, Senior Project Manager, The Walsh Group
Anderson Lock responded, quite simply, with what the Walsh project managers expected—
and it is the reason we are the only door company they contacted!
