Brockton Hospital has been closed for precisely a 12 months, and well being care leaders throughout the area say they’re anxiously awaiting for it to reopen this spring.
A hearth that broke out in {an electrical} gear room and climbed to an unprecedented 10 alarms shut the hospital down on Feb. 7, 2023. Roughly 160 sufferers have been safely evacuated and both discharged or taken to different medical amenities within the space.
“Every day since the fire, one of our three paramount goals has been to safely reopen as soon as possible,” mentioned Robert Haffey, president and CEO of Signature Healthcare, an organization that owns Brockton Hospital . “Our construction partners and local, state, and federal officials share this goal and have been tireless in pursuing it.”
“Now, we have entered the final phases of work to continue renovating the damaged electrical and other infrastructure and are announcing this spring, Brockton Hospital will welcome back its valued staff, patients, and the community,” Haffey mentioned in a launch.
While the precise date for the reopening continues to be to be decided, well being care leaders and advocates welcomed the event that Brockton Hospital shall be coming again sooner or later by the summer season.
Patricia Noga, vice chairman of scientific affairs for the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, referred to as it unbelievable information for sufferers within the larger Brockton space.”
“And it is equally welcome news for the southeast region, where the hospital capacity crunch has been especially pronounced in recent years,” Noga mentioned in an announcement to the Herald. “We congratulate the organization’s leaders, caregivers, and community members on this important step.”
With the hearth starting in a hospital electrical room, officers highlighted how that triggered each utility energy and emergency mills to be powered down, shuttering pc techniques, elevators, telephones, medical gadgets and lights as sufferers and staffers evacuated.
“When I think back to a year ago,” Haffey mentioned. “I am still in awe of the dedication of our staff and emergency personnel and how they cared for our patients on that unfortunate day. Together, we safely evacuated 162 patients, some critically ill, without overhead lighting, medical records, or elevators.”
The hearth destroyed a lot of the hospital’s electrical wiring, mentioned Brian Backoff, director of amenities and engineering. Supply chain shortages introduced issues for reopening earlier, he added.
“But our legislators, regulators, suppliers and contractors worked some supply-chain magic and got us back on track,” Backoff mentioned in a launch. “We have everything we need now to finish this project and reopen our doors this spring”
Patients shall be strolling right into a reworked and renovated facility each time the hospital reopens this spring, together with a brand new 12-unit behavioral well being triage unit, a brand new outpatient surgical heart and a predominant foyer extension.
Three pressing care facilities, two in Brockton and one in East Bridgewater, that opened after the hearth will stay open after the hospital returns to full operate, Haffey mentioned.
Katie Murphy, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, mentioned Brockton Hospital is “desperately” wanted to be again on-line.
“The reopening of Brockton Hospital is an essential component to any effort to stabilize the crisis in hospital capacity the state is now facing,” she mentioned in an announcement to the Herald, “and it is particularly important on the South Shore and Southeastern region, where the loss of Norwood Hospital, and the pending financial crisis with the Steward system is resulting in severe overcrowding and excessive wait times in hospital emergency departments at surrounding facilities.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”