As Duke University Hospital rebounds from a significant flooding incident, normal operations are gradually being reinstated after a chilled water pipe burst on December 26, causing extensive damage, particularly to the emergency department. The hospital's emergency department, which had been on divert status for ambulance traffic, is navigating towards the restoration of its full scope of services.
On their fifth day of recovery, Duke Health officials stated that while the emergency department was still on divert status for ambulances as of Monday morning, it has resumed acceptance of transfer patients from other hospitals needing inpatient care, with over 100 patients received in the past four days, as reported by CBS17. Additionally, surgical cases continue without interruption.
The News & Observer details that while the emergency room has reopened following weekend repairs, certain areas, like the trauma center, remain closed. Thomas Owens, chief operating officer for Duke University Health System, explained, Trauma care is "perhaps the most complicated, and requires not only a large treatment area, but also access to other key services very rapidly." The expectation is that this critical service will be restored over the 'next several days.'
Duke University Hospital is open to walk-in traffic, with the front entrance, waiting room, and 16 emergency department beds now operational. They are making significant steps to restore full services, aiming to fully reopen to ambulance traffic by the end of yesterday. "The flooding and damage was like nothing I've ever seen in 20 years in health care," Mary Martin, chief operating officer of Duke University Hospital, mentioned in an interview with ABC11. She marveled at the rapid progress, stating, "We have over 200 contractors on site. I'm amazed at the progress they've made to date -- having the front of the ER open, one of our ED pods open. Again, it's just heroic."
Duke's hospital on Erwin Road, notable for receiving the most 911 patients in Durham, is coordinating closely with EMS and other healthcare facilities to manage the temporary rerouting of trauma patients to nearby Raleigh and Chapel Hill hospitals.
