NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull Completes Successful Evacuation: 116 Patients Transferred Across the Health System
A neighborhood power failure and equipment damage caused by the extreme rainfall on Friday necessitated a temporary evacuation and full patient transfer Assessment of the damaged equipment has begun; repairs could take days
Oct 01, 2023
New York, NY
At a little before midnight last night, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull successfully completed a safe and orderly evacuation of all patients, to allow for the hospital to fully shut down its power to address flood-related damage. A total of 116 patients were transferred to other NYC Health + Hospitals sites. There were no adverse patient effects reported throughout the entire process. The health system has begun its assessment of the hospital’s engineering and electrical systems to understand the extent of any damage caused. It is estimated that the repairs could take a minimum of several days before the hospital can resume operations. NYC Health + Hospitals will continue to communicate with patients and their families to keep them updated as repairs continue.
“As we continue to work to support our fellow New Yorkers after Friday’s storm, I’m proud of the thousands of public servants across our administration for the work they’ve done to keep New Yorkers safe and get our city back up and running,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “That especially goes for the staff at Woodhull Hospital, which — in coordination with NYCEM and other city agencies — seamlessly transferred all of their patients to other hospitals to allow for electrical repairs to address damage caused by the storm. With climate change making these storms more intense and more frequent, it’s more important than ever that we get the federal resources we need to continue to build new infrastructure that can handle these threats. New Yorkers can rest easy knowing that our team is ready to address any crisis.”
“Once again, we showed how NYC Health + Hospitals works as a system to take care of all its patients,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull CEO Gregory J. Calliste. “This could not have been accomplished without the work of the committed NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull staff, all the health system’s teams, and our government agency partners. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we’ll be a stronger hospital because of it.”
The hospital is not accepting any patients and will remain on diversion for all ambulances. In an emergency, New Yorkers should call 911 and ambulatory patients should seek out nearby hospitals.
NYC Health + Hospitals worked with NYCEM, FDNY, NYPD, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, its state partners, and state and federal regulatory and elected officials to facilitate the transfers.
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About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Brooklyn. It is a premiere health care organization for key specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women’s health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and behavioral health services. Last year, the hospital received close to 300,000 ambulatory care visits and close to 100,000 emergency room visits. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook.