A late-night bomb scare sent patients and staff hustling out of Saint Joseph Plymouth Medical Center on Monday, after a caller reported bombs inside the building and triggered a sweeping, multi‑agency response that cleared portions of the hospital. The facility reopened in the early hours of Tuesday with no reported injuries, and Plymouth police say the hunt for whoever made the threat is still underway.
Officers were dispatched shortly after the call came in around 9:30 p.m., and fire and EMS crews were asked to stage at the scene, according to WSBT. Plymouth Fire Assistant Chief Chuy Garcia told WSBT that crews rolled out several beds with patients still on them and relied on ambulances and a warming bus, while hospital staff kept up patient care in the middle of the chaos. Detective Derek Workman said bomb‑sniffing dogs from LaPorte and Porter counties swept the building and the South Bend Bomb Squad later cleared the area.
Patients Transferred And Discharged
Clinical staff loaded patients onto a bus and shifted them to nearby facilities; two patients were discharged, six were transferred to Saint Joseph Mishawaka Medical Center and one to Community Hospital of Bremen, according to WNDU. Hospital officials said families were notified as teams coordinated the moves and kept patients under continuous care throughout the transfers.
All Clear After Multi‑Agency Search
After hours of methodical searching, authorities gave the all‑clear shortly after 1 a.m., finding no explosive devices, ABC57 reports. Saint Joseph Health System publicly thanked staff and first responders for enduring a long, tense night: "We are grateful to our colleagues and first responders for their swift action, dedication and commitment to keeping our patients safe throughout this incident," the system said, as relayed by WSBT.
The hospital returned to normal operations once the scene was cleared, and officials reiterated that patient safety stayed at the top of the priority list throughout the scare. Investigators with the Plymouth Police Department are working to trace the origin of the call and continue to gather information, WNDU reports.
