University of Vermont Medical Center's Fanny Allen Campus in Colchester is shutting down its operating rooms again after more nurses report nausea and dizziness, reports VTDigger.
Ten Fanny Allen staff members fell ill over the last 10 days, less than two weeks after nurses on two rehab floors reported similar symptoms.
After several instances of staff members mysteriously falling ill over the last year, hospital officials said Nov. 12 that nurses won't return to the rehab units or ORs until a cause is determined.
"We feel like we've explored everything that we can check to make it as safe as possible — we've used multiple outside experts, and we continue to monitor the air quality and other issues," said Steve Leffler, MD, president of UVM Medical Center. "Unless we find something that we're certain is the cause, we won't go back."
Surgeries will move to the main campus Nov. 17. Officials are looking into temporary mobile operating rooms and considering applying for an emergency permit to build or buy another building, Dr. Leffler told VTDigger.
Fanny Allen OR nurses first fell ill after reporting a strange smell in October 2019. After a second occurence in November, the hospital closed the operating rooms for two months to investigate. The following spring, 14 rehab unit staff members went to urgent care with similar symptoms. The rehab unit closed temporarily, with a Department of Health report attributing at least some symptoms to cleaning materials used to prevent COVID-19.