Adventist Health St. Helena (Calif.) will reopen to patients Dec. 9 after a wildfire caused the hospital to close for more than two months.
The 151-bed hospital was forced to evacuate and close Sept. 27 due to the Glass Fire, which erupted in Napa Valley and scorched more than 67,000 acres before being contained.
Because of the encroaching fire, sensitive equipment, including MRI machines, CT scanners and the nurse call system had to be shut down, and restoring power to those machines is not easy, The Napa Valley Register reported.
For the last two months the hospital has been repairing those systems, deep cleaning the facility, replacing supplies and flushing out the water system, according to the news release.
"Getting all of the intricate systems and equipment cleaned, tested, retested and calibrated were onerous tasks critical to the reopening plan. We’re happy to report this hospital is now better than ever, and it’s been certified by officials that we’re safe and ready to reopen tomorrow at 7 a.m.," said Hoda Assadian, St. Helena operations executive.
The hospital will hold a virtual event celebrating the reopening Dec. 8.