Jefferson Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia reopens after power outage, evacuations
Jefferson Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia is back open on Saturday, days after a power outage forced evacuations and a temporary closure.
The hospital on South Broad Street near Wolf Street resumed operations around 7 a.m.
On Tuesday night, the hospital was forced to evacuate and relocate patients to nearby hospitals in the city after a pipe burst caused a power outage. The evacuations continued into Wednesday morning, and the hospital had been closed since.
Police told CBS News Philadelphia on Tuesday night that a pipe burst in the hospital's basement, filling it with about 3 feet of water. It caused the power outage and was the reason why the backup generator didn't activate, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
No injuries or complications were reported during the transfer of patients.
"Our staff worked all night in very difficult conditions. I couldn't be more proud of our staff, our emergency management response, our nurses, our doctors, everybody, our emergency room," Jefferson Health CEO Dr. Joseph Cacchione said outside the hospital Saturday morning.
About 20 patients who were evacuated Tuesday and Wednesday will be returning to Methodist Hospital, Cacchione said. The remaining 100 or so patients who were in the building at the time have been treated at other hospitals and released.
"This swift reopening is a testament to the dedication, coordination, and rapid response of hundreds of Jefferson colleagues and partners who worked around-the-clock to maintain our patients' uninterrupted care," Cacchione said in a statement earlier Friday.
