• Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
  • ENGINEERS
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • CONTRACTORS
  • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
  • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
  • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • WATER TREATMENT
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • PMC COLUMNS
  • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
  • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
  • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
  • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
  • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
  • CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
  • FIRE PROTECTION
  • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
  • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
  • PME COLUMNS
  • PME COLUMNS
  • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
  • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
  • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
  • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
  • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
  • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
  • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
  • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
  • CODES
  • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
  • PROJECT PROFILES
  • COLUMNS
  • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • COLUMNS
  • Codes Corner
  • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
  • Guest Editorial
  • MEDIA
  • EBOOKS
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
  • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
  • DIRECTORIES
  • PM BOOKSTORE
  • CE CENTER
  • MARKET RESEARCH
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
  • EMAGAZINE
  • ARCHIVE ISSUES
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
  • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • EBOOKS
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!
Plumbing News

Plumbing industry rallies to help convert Chicago’s McCormick Place into COVID-19 field hospital

Convention center to serve as emergency facility to treat up to 3,000 patients.

By Nicole Krawcke
McCormick2

Billy Ford, outside salesman for Friedman & Dorrans Sales and a former mechanical contractor, poses beside Bradford White water heaters and a Laars storage tank he helped install at McCormick Place to convert it into a field hospital to treat COVID-19 patients.

McCormick1
McCormick2
McCormick4
McCormick5
McCormick6
McCormick2
McCormick1
McCormick2
McCormick4
McCormick5
McCormick6
April 9, 2020

Around the country, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been rapidly assessing and building alternate care facilities to alleviate strain on local hospitals. Per CNN, as of April 9, there are 432,579 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., with 14,830 deaths. While most of these facilities are being designed to handle non-COVID-19 patients, McCormick Place convention center in Chicago will be set up to treat up to 3,000 low to moderate coronavirus patients, thereby freeing up hospital beds for more severe cases.

According to Walsh Construction, the firm leading the temporary conversion, patients will be separated in the convention center halls by level of care required. Construction for the first 500 beds was completed April 3, while the rest of the field hospital is expected to be finished by April 24.

 

PLUMBING INDUSTRY RESPONDS
Last week as construction continued on McCormick Place, Brian Friedman, owner of Friedman & Dorrans Sales, a manufacturer’s rep firm in Wheeling, Illinois, received an urgent call from his outside salesman, Billy Ford, about sourcing 17 Bradford White 120 gal, 54 kW, 208 volt water heaters to supply hot water to the facility.

Friedman & Dorrans offers technical and installation support, employing a few former mechanical contractors who are familiar with the products they represent. O’Sullivan Plumbing had reached out to Ferguson Enterprises for help, who in turn, reached out to Ford.

“When they set up Section C, which was the first 500 beds, we had come up with a solution for their hot water issues by supplying the heaters and the storage tank for the staff showers and another heater for the AVA showers,” Ford says. “Then the contractor turned to me and said, ‘You realize that we have to duplicate this four times.’ And I said, ‘Well, no, nobody made me aware of that.’ And that's when I said, ‘Give me a second, let me get on the phone.’ That's when the calls started and we began sourcing the product.”

Friedman started making calls immediately.

“The factory unfortunately couldn’t supply the heaters in the timeframe that was required, so I tapped our network and had the good fortune of finding sufficient inventory at one of Bradford White’s consigned inventory warehouses in Atlanta. I coordinated with their operations guy, and the heaters were delivered within 17 hours of ordering.

“We have a long history and a lot of experience with Bradford White along with a vast local and national distribution network, that, in essence, is how we were able to tap to make this happen,” he continues. “It was definitely a logistical challenge, but it ended up working out.”
In addition to the water heaters themselves, Friedman also required conversion kits, which were flown next day air from Bradford White’s Middleville, Michigan manufacturing facility.

“That center had not been tapped for a project this size in quite some time,” Ford says. “So to watch representatives from every single trade standing in a circle with a FEMA representative and construction managers coordinating efforts — then it was like, ‘Ready! Break! Let’s all go get our jobs done!’ Then we would reconnect again in about five hours and reassess. It really was an impressive thing to be part of.

“There were constant coordination efforts with FEMA, Walsh Construction and O’Sullivan Plumbing and IBEW — that’s something that gets lost in our industry,” he continues. “In a lot of cases, folks are in there and have blinders on, just working on their particular part of the project. To FEMA’s and Walsh’s credit, that was not allowed to happen here. Every time they'd get a section done, we'd have to go in and commission the product. Per FEMA, they wanted to make sure that when those things were turned on, they worked. So, we were down there coordinating with IBEW and everybody else, pulling power in, making sure everything was coordinated and done. It didn't go off without some challenges, but it did go off. And at this point the 3000-bed hospital has hot water that they were looking for.”

“I’m so proud our team was able to step up to find ways to help with this human crisis,” Friedman adds. “Despite the ups and downs of the world we're living in right now, plumbing as an industry is truly essential. It’s not just words, it's fact. And, I think we're all very blessed to be in an industry that is a priority in people's lives when the call is there. That’s one of the reasons I entered the industry to begin with and I'm sure why most people are in it, because we are protecting the health of the nation. And I think at the end of the day, that's what it's all about.”

“We didn’t know what to expect, when we got the call to help on the COVID-19 Care Center project at McCormick Place,” says Jim Kuenn, director of commercial — Central Midwest, Ferguson Enterprises. “We got involved midday on March 31, and needed to turn around a huge amount of product in just a few days. We reviewed the mechanical schedule and specifications provided to us. It was a daunting task that most of our associates had not seen before. We said yes because we wanted to not only help our customer, but also the community during this time of need.

“The Ferguson team in Chicago stepped up to the challenge, rolled up their sleeves and worked 24/7 to make it happen,” he adds. “We are ramping up to finish the final phases by this weekend, Mechanical Inc. and O’Sullivan is ahead of schedule and will meet the deadlines because everyone — from contractors like Mechanical Inc./O’Sullivan to various vendors – found a way to say ‘yes.’ I get prideful chills from what was accomplished.”

To date, Bradford White has supplied water heaters for several major field hospitals, including Javits Convention Center in New York City and McCormick Place, according to Mark Taylor, executive vice president and general manager at Bradford White.

“We are extremely proud of the work being done by our reps like the team at Friedman & Dorrans Sales, as well as our wholesaler and contractor customers who are making sure that medical facilities have the hot water they need to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Taylor. “Hot water is critical for cleaning, sanitizing and hygienic purposes, and it’s important for us to do our part to support the health care workers on the front lines. 

“In Michigan, where our water heaters are produced, we reached out to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and offered to provide products for any temporary field hospitals in the State of Michigan that need water heaters to help address the pandemic. Michigan is one of the states hit particularly hard by COVID-19.”

Todd Young, vice president of commercial, Ferguson Enterprises, notes the crisis has undoubtedly changed the way everyone lives and works.

“We’ve implemented new processes in order to help our customers and communities during this time,” he adds. “To support local hospitals and pop-up facilities across the country, we’ve organized a new response and product procurement system to handle the many inquiries coming in — because it’s the right thing to do. From delivering jobsite trailers and emergency water heaters to providing products for field hospitals at facilities like CenturyLink Field and Sleep Train Arena, we’re working with a variety of essential businesses in different industries to help our communities push forward… and we’re happy to do it.”

 

KEYWORDS: coronavirus COVID-19 healthcare plumbing water heaters

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Nicole krawcke 2024

Nicole Krawcke is the former Chief Editor of Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer magazines. She covered the HVAC and plumbing industries for BNP Media. She has more than 15 years of writing and editing experience and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Manage My Account
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

AI can boost efficiency and profitability for plumbing, HVAC contractors

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

Bell & Gossett Illustrates Path to Net-zero at AHR Expo

NIBCO Press Solutions

NIBCO Press Solutions

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

IPEX celebrates grand opening of new Florida distribution center

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Buildup inside the iron pumps

Hidden issues and high bills: troubleshooting radiant heat in a luxury home

Heat pump of air-water technology for the home.

Rethinking Heat Transfer: Why 'Natural' Isn't Always Ideal for Air-to-Water Systems

Harry Warren, Inc. directors posing for a group photo in the conference room.

Plumbing & Mechanical 2025 Rep of the Year: Harry Warren, Inc.

2025 Bath & Kitchen Pro eBook

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • A neighborhood is flooded following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

    Plumbing industry rallies to help following recent hurricane disasters

    See More
  • COVID plumbing industry bnp media

    COVID-19: Impact on the plumbing industry

    See More
  • Texas Repair

    Plumbing Industry Rallies to Repair Texas

    See More
×
Billy Ford, outside salesman for Friedman & Dorrans Sales and a former mechanical contractor, poses beside Bradford White water heaters and a Laars storage tank he helped install at McCormick Place to convert it into a field hospital to treat COVID-19 patients.

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • EBOOKS
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!