Fairplex in Pomona was ‘critical’ to LA County coronavirus response efforts, officials say

Long before the coronavirus pandemic became a reality, Fairplex officials in Pomona had a plan in place to help if an emergency struck the local community.

For the past year, that plan has been put to the test as the entertainment venue, home to the Los Angeles County Fair, shifted gears from concerts and funnel cakes to food drives and vaccination and testing clinics.

“Whatever happened, we knew we wanted to be a community benefit but the challenge at the time, was not knowing what we were facing,” Fairplex interim CEO Walter Marquez said. “At the same time, it was a no brainer for us to transition operations during an unprecedented time.”

Yet for Fairplex, its most consequential decision came in the onset of the pandemic; partnering with L.A. County to allow use of the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel and its 244 rooms to quarantine coronavirus patients, including those exposed to COVID-19 and others that could not safely quarantine or isolate in place.

The hotel was the first contracted by L.A. County to assist with its coronavirus response and since March 2020 served more than 3,500 patients.

“The Fairplex was critical to our public health response, serving some of our most at-risk patients,” said Dr. Heidi Behforouz, medical director for L.A. County’s Housing for Health program, which oversees the county’s quarantine and isolation sites, including the Sheraton Hotel.

“Pomona has always been our flagship site, it represented care and most importantly, hope,” she added.

The isolation site was announced March 20, 2020, and almost exactly a year later, on March 17, the hotel’s final patient was discharged, signaling an end to a chapter that many have long looked forward to.

With a lease expiring at the end of the month and experts hopeful the winter surge behind, L.A. County is in the process of decommissioning the isolation site, L.A. County Department of Health Services officials said.

The significance of the closure isn’t lost on Behforouz, who recalls the early days filled with uncertainty and anxiety. The county opened quarantine and isolation sites at Dockweiler Beach, Sherman Oaks, South Los Angeles, and near Downtown L.A. Fairplex quickly became its biggest operation.

“There was no playbook in how to operate a quarantine site and there was a lot that we had to learn quickly,” Behforouz said. “But over time, it became a getaway and a kind of ‘go-to place’ for some patients who liked the isolation.”

The average length of a stay for patients at the site was about 12 days, according to data tracked since June 11, the earliest date that DHS recorded figures for this site.

County data shows more than half, 53%, of those who checked into the Pomona site were 25-54 years old, with 64% being of Latino descent. Of the patients treated at the site, 56% were male, data shows.

The site employed 150 to 200 staffers, including both clinical and nonclinical positions. It also employed call center nurses and offered mental health services. After being discharged, everyone was provided transportation and those without permanent housing, were connected to an “interim housing bed,” officials with the DHS said.

During the winter coronavirus surge, on Dec. 24, the hotel saw 254 patients admitted, the largest number of clients admitted on any one day.

There were no deaths at the hotel and also no outbreak among staff stationed there, according to Behforouz.

Seth Alvarez, medical assistant, is on his way to disinfect after conducting a blood glucose check for a patient isolating at the Pomona Fairplex Medical Shelter on Nov. 16, 2020. The Pomona Fairplex Medical Shelter is one of four COVID-19 Medical Shelters operated by Department of Health Services in Los Angeles County. (Courtesy of Los Angeles County)”There was tough days for sure, but we never wavered,” she said. “In one building we served all walks of life, all people at that moment received the same level of attention no matter their background. That’s the definition of a true public health response.”

That response was the only choice, said Marquez, who took the title of Fairplex interim CEO in January after Miguel Santana opted not to seek an extension to his contract.

While Marquez said the Pomona venue has always been a place to make memories, he knows this past year that’s been different, like so much of our lives. He said he hopes people can one day reflect on how the Fairplex made a difference for the community, when it was needed most.

“We constantly hear stories of people getting engaged here and how they met, now we’re going to hear the stories of people getting the vaccine, getting essential food here,” Marquez said. “I think we’re going to hear those stories maybe a year from now, people will say ‘I’m so happy that Fairplex was there for me.’”

Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval said the work done at the site saved countless lives in the Eastern San Gabriel Valley region.

“As we look back at this period in Pomona, we have to remember everything that we accomplished together, especially the efforts and transformation of the Fairplex,” Sandoval said. “It reimagined itself and it saved lives. I can tell you, Pomona is forever thankful to them.”

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, whose district includes Pomona, credits the site as a critical piece of the County’s response efforts.

“Medical sheltering sites have been a critical resource for residents living in low-income and communities of color like the San Gabriel Valley,” Solis said in a statement. “… Fairplex has continued to take on the critical missions of COVID-19 testing and vaccination, which will lead us to the end of this pandemic.”

That end seems closer every day.

After a year of massive revenue loss and subsequent layoffs, Marquez said he’s eager for the venue to go back to what it does best: bringing people together.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a year,” he said, with many high and many lows, “those lows have been the loss of lives,” Marquez said. “While we look forward to bringing people together, all of this has given us a chance to reimagine Fairplex and what else we can do to help.”