The expandable hospital is a 22 ft. by 114 ft. inflatable tent which includes stretchers, portable suction, portable oxygen, portable telemetry, portable ventilators, pharmaceuticals and emergency medical equipment and supplies and is capable of sustaining up to 25 patients at a time.

Bethesda’s Command Emergency Manager Christopher Gillette said the shelter is intended to be used during mass casualties when there is a patient surge.

‘‘These shelters would only be deployed in a mass disaster where every single hospital in the national capital region has depleted their existing bed capacity and are now trying to implement their surge expansion plans,” Gillette said. ‘‘They are to initially treat patients and stabilize them or hold them for an intermittent period of time until we can get them to a permanent facility.”

Gillette said the Emergency Management Department has been looking for a way to handle surges during emergency situations in which capacity would need to be expanded since he took over six years ago.

‘‘This is state-of-the-art equipment and has never been used before,” Gillette said. ‘‘Ultimately we plan on being able to expand to 100 beds, but for now we just want to test it out and get any feedback we can.”

Chief Hospital Corpsman (FMF⁄PJ) John Skelly, the Leading Chief Petty Officer of Emergency Management Department, emphasized the importance of people taking the tour. ‘‘We need to find out what people like and what changes need to be made before the 30th when we have the [mass casualty] drill,” Skelly said. ‘‘This is all really high-tech and cool equipment and if you’ve never seen a tent hospital before it’s really worth checking out.”

Skelly said this may be the beginning to a new idea in surge expansion which may inspire other hospitals to follow suite.

The shelter will be displayed on the corner of Stokes Road and Palmer Road from Sept. 16 to the 18. Thirty minute tours will be given every hour.

Gillette said he would like to invite everyone available to come by and take a tour to familiarize themselves with the tent as well as give input into how the Emergency Management Department can make the tents better.