As temperatures climb to dangerous highs in areas of the Southern U.S., including in South Florida, employees from a Miami VA hospital said they are concerned about ongoing issues with the facility's air conditioning system and how the machine's faults are affecting vulnerable patients, CBS News reported June 25.
The unit has reportedly had issues for more than a week, which led to the evacuation of the facility's third floor, but patients still remain on floors one and two, employees told CBS. Some patients have already had to be transferred to the ICU or emergency department because of the conditions, an employee said.
However, a spokesperson for the Miami VA said that it moved 35 patients and 26 employees from a Miami facility to another in West Palm Beach as AC repairs are being made.
"A limited number of patients were preemptively moved to other areas of the hospital (not the emergency department), ensuring maximum safety for our patients," the spokesperson, Ken Griffin told CBS. "We are continuously monitoring patient safety and comfort as we work through this issue. The claim that residents needed the emergency room is false, although the emergency room is available for anyone who feels they may need their service."
The system expects to return patients to the Miami facility within three days, according to the outlet.