WORCESTER, Mass. - Doctors and Nurses at the DCU Center Field Hosptial say they're seeing more patients in need of care then they expected.

As of Friday afternoon, the field hospital had 29 patients 

Dozens of patients from Worcester, Boston, and other parts of Massachusetts are being treated at the DCU Center Field Hospital. Head Nursing Officer Pete Lancette estimates that a little less than half of patients are from Worcester. The city's COVID-19 positivity rate has been between 11 and 14 percent over the last few weeks. 

"We knew there was a need out there but we didn't reconize how quickly that need was going to come to us," said Pete Lancette Associatate Head Nursing Officer, DCU Center Field Hospital. 

Doctors and nurses expected to see 25 COVID-19 patients this week, but treated more. 

"I think that demand is just there for patients to decompress out of the hospitals and we just want to make sure we are being the best resource we can for the Commonwealth and I think we are doing that," said Dr. John Broach, Medical Director, DCU Center Field Hospital

The field hospital will be able to treat 50 patients on Sunday, and continue to ramp up space. Full capacity would be 220. 

"We only open beds that we have staff for so right now we are staffed for the patients that we need to take care of, but we are definitely still looking for more staff to come help us and be a part of this,"  said Broach. 

And as the pandemic continues, field hospital staff says they've learned a lot about how to operate the facility, a second time, and care for COVID patients. 

"We brought in hospital beds this time, that's been a huge patient satisifier. We just really took the time, the patient lounge, there are patients down there every day so we are really glad we did that," said Lancette. 

"We have learned that steroids are helpful for people with significant lung injury. We have learned that remdesivir can be be helpful in a select group of patients. We have learned that convalescent plasma can be helpful and we can do all of those things here," said Broach. 

Dr. Broach says COVID-19 hospitalizations will continue to rise over the next few weeks, but the field hospital is prepared.