PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Jefferson Methodist Hospital in South Philadelphia will reopen on Saturday, days after a power outage forced the hospital to close and evacuate more than 100 patients.
A pipe broke and flooded the basement of the hospital on Tuesday evening. Power was knocked out and backup generators failed. Jefferson subsequently transferred about 120 patients to other facilities while crews worked to restore power. No one was injured.
The hospital is back to full power, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health cleared it to reopen on Saturday at 7 a.m., during the busy Memorial Day weekend.
“We’re a big system, and we were able to absorb all 120 patients with the exception of some that our colleagues at Penn took and were very willing to take those patients,” said Jefferson Health CEO Joe Cacchione.
He said the swift reopening is a testament to Jefferson staff’s rapid response to maintain patient care.
