Utica, N.Y.-based Mohawk Valley Health System's new Wynn Hospital opened Oct. 29 but will delay surgeries for a week, the Daily Sentinel reported.
The health system moved about 250 patients to the new facility Oct. 29 as part of a plan to consolidate care from its St. Luke's and St. Elizabeth's campuses in Utica. The emergency departments at the two campuses closed and most equipment and services were transferred to the new hospital in Utica on Oct. 29, according to the Observer-Dispatch.
A final test of the air handling systems in the Wynn Hospital's operating rooms and cardiac cath labs did not meet expectations, prompting the hospital to divert all trauma and major surgeries until Nov. 6 out of an abundance of caution.
"Unfortunately, the air handling system could only be tested once all areas were completely finished and closed off, which is why it wasn’t discovered until this week," Darlene Stromstad, president and CEO of Mohawk Valley Health System, told the Daily Sentinel. "When you identify patient safety as your priority, the decision is easy. We will divert."
The hospital will send trauma patients to other area hospitals and has deferred elective surgeries until the air handling systems meet expectations.