By John Shumway, CBSN Pittsburgh
March 23, 2020 at 6:39 pm

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The University of Pittsburgh is opening one of its dorms to house doctors and nurses at UPMC who are working extra shifts and can’t go home.

With all but 500 students gone, Pitt is looking at ways it can help UPMC as the region rides the upward trend of the coronavirus outbreak.

With doctors and nurses working long hours and not wanting to take the virus risk home, Pitt is stepping with an alternative.

Lothrop Hall is next to UPMC Presbyterian and in some cases, the buildings are physically connected.

Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher says the remaining students are being moved out of Lothrop Hall to make way for the dorm to be used by UPMC doctors and nurses.

Under normal circumstances, Lothrop can house more than 700 students on its 14 floors.

Most of the rooms are single occupancy.

While Lothrop is the closest to UPMC Presbyterian, it is only one of many dorms on the Pitt campus.

Chancellor Gallagher says the university is under “active consideration” about what other facilities could be made available if the UPMC system gets challenged and needs more space for patients.

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