Honors College prepares for student return
Hospital beds are removed from the VCU Honors College building on April 7, The Honors College is located on campus at 701 West Grace St. Photo by Chris Muth
Katharine DeRosa, News Editor
Hospital beds are coming out of VCU’s Honors College one year after student belongings were removed with no warning from the university to make room for COVID-19 overflow in Richmond.
Bed Techs, a supplier of hospital beds, stretchers and medical equipment based in Indiana, removed the hospital beds from the Honors College on Wednesday around noon, according to worker Michael Wilson. VCU spokesperson Matt Lovisa stated the beds were removed to make room for residential furniture returning to the residence hall.
Workers rolled hospital beds out of the building one at a time and lifted them into two trucks parked in front of the Honors College building on Grace Street.
“The plan is for The Honors College to transition back to Residential Life and Housing to use as a residence hall for next year,” Lovisa stated in an email.
The building was briefly used for isolation overflow in August, Lovisa stated. Two students stayed there for less than 48 hours after both tested negative for COVID-19.
A video last March taken by someone who identified as an employee spread on social media. The video showed student belongings being taken, boxed and labeled. VCU placed student belongings in a storage facility, and students were able to pick up their belongings over the summer.
The Honors College is typically used as housing for freshman students in the honors program, with each student having their own room and bathroom. The building itself was previously a hospital, known as the Capitol Medical Center, before becoming a residence hall. VCU purchased the building in 2001.
