CLEVELAND, Ohio — Hospitals, health-care workers and homeless shelters need more beds, and hotels have plenty they’re not using.

“I look at it as a win-win,” said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, whose organization is working with the hotel community to find ways to help homeless shelters spread out residents during the coronavirus pandemic. “The hotels are empty and they’re either going to shutter or find ways to be of use in this public health crisis.”

So far, hotels in Ohio haven’t been called on in a large-scale way to offer assistance, as hospitals throughout the state have been able to handle their rising caseloads.

But the hotel industry will be ready when needed, said Joe Savarise, executive director of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association.

The organization has set up an online database of hotels that are willing to help. Among the ways they can offer assistance:

* As a location for overflow hospital rooms, when coronavirus patients spike in Ohio and more beds are needed. Hotels probably wouldn’t be asked to house COVID-19 patients, but may be needed for less critical patients or those on the mend who need isolation.

* To alleviate pressure at overcrowded homeless shelters throughout the state. Already, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless is using several hotels in Cleveland to keep the homeless population safe, according to Executive Director Chris Knestrick.

* To offer rooms to health-care workers who don’t want to go home, for fear of infecting their families, as well as pandemic first responders.

Among the participating hotels: Radius Hospitality Group, the Copley-based company that owns more than dozen hotels in Northeast Ohio and across the country. The company recently started promoting its properties as alternative lodging for health-care workers who don’t want to go home and risk infecting their families.

Emerald Hospitality Associates in Westlake, the operator of dozens of hotels, also is ready to help, said Edward Pavente, chief operating officer. “Our hotels remain open and we certainly are willing to support our local communities and government agencies to the best of our ability. If the need should arise, we will work closely with local officials and hospital administrators to explore all opportunities.”

This isn’t the first time hotels have been asked to help during times of crisis, including hurricanes and other natural disasters, although it’s unusual in Ohio.

Hotels are already being used to alleviate pressure on the medical system in some states where the pandemic is more widespread, including California and New York.

Representatives from the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals said their organizations are not currently using hotels for overflow, although UH is talking with Case Western Reserve University about using a dorm to house health-care workers who want to stay closer to the main campus.

John Palmer, a spokesman for the Ohio Hospital Association, said his organization doesn’t have data on what, if any, deals have been made between hospitals and hotels in the state. But he said: “We are active with state officials and agencies on surge planning and coordination that has many options on the table to expand capacity such as hotel space, residence halls, nursing home wings, etc.”

Early this week, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless paid to house 50 homeless Clevelanders at a local hotel in an effort to keep them from sleeping in an outside encampment, where they would probably face an elevated risk of coronavirus exposure.

Knestrick said his organization is paying about $50 per room per night to several hotels, both downtown and on the near West Side. “A lot of hotels have reached out, willing to help us figure out how they could help folks who are unhoused in Cleveland,” he said. “It’s very generous of them to partner with us in this way.”

Faith, with the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said hotel rooms can help the homeless population in a couple of ways — by providing safe space for healthy families, or by housing individuals who may be sick and need to isolate themselves.

“One of the cool things about hotels and motels is that many of them serve breakfast, which is a big help,” Faith said. They also have housekeeping staff and cleaning supplies, also important during the pandemic.

Savarise said the lodging industry lobbied to be included on the list of essential businesses as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine considered the components of the state’s “Stay at Home” order, which went into effect earlier this week. One of the reasons to keep at least some hotels open is so they can provide assistance to the community, Savarise said.

Even so, he said he’s hoping Ohio hotels are not needed in a large-scale way to help fight the pandemic. “This is not something we want to happen,” he said. “We are prepared to help. I think we all hope that it doesn’t become as big as it could.”

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