Norwood Hospital Temporarily Closed to Walk-Ins
NORWOOD — Norwood Fire Chief George T. Morrice reports that additional patients at Norwood Hospital have been evacuated following a power outage caused by heavy rain and flooding in the hospital basement. Approximately 20 people were evacuated from the ICU around 7:30 p.m. this evening, and an additional 60-70 were evacuated around 10 p.m. while the power outage remained unresolved. Some patients remain in the Draper Buiding, part of the hospital complex that did not lose power.
As a result of the power outage, the Emergency Room at Norwood Hospital is temporarily closed until further notice. Individuals in need of medical attention in the area can go to nearby Sturdy Memorial Hospital located at 211 Park St in Attleboro or Beth Israel Deaconess Needham located at 148 Chestnut St in Needham. In addition Norwood Urgent Care located at 120 Boston Providence Highway in Norwood is open to walk-ins.
Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening heavy storms passed through the area overwhelming storm drains and resulting in the flooding at Norwood Hospital, which caused an electrical issue and the subsequent loss of power.
There have been no injuries reported as a result of the power outage and the most critical patients were moved out of the hospital in the first wave of evacuations. Crews continue to work to restore power back to the hospital and remove water in the building.
“Norwood was hit by this rainstorm that dumped tremendous amounts of water, and led to emergency calls all over town,” said Chief Morrice. “When the hospital became the focus of the situation, Norwood Fire, Police, and the Department of Public Works worked in conjunction to mitigate the initial issues that were faced. Ambulances from Norwood, as well as the surrounding communities and private companies were critical in assisting with moving patients at Norwood Hospital to other hospitals across the area.”
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