Overview
- A burst pipe filled the hospital basement with about three feet of water on Tuesday night, triggering a power outage that forced Jefferson Methodist to suspend normal inpatient operations.
- Hospital officials and first responders evacuated or transferred roughly 120 patients overnight, and the system reports no injuries or transfer complications as of Wednesday morning.
- Flooding reached the generator area and prevented backup generators from activating, and investigators from the hospital and city are reviewing how water entered mechanical systems.
- Some power was restored early Wednesday and the emergency department reopened for walk-in patients while ambulances are redirected, but leaders say full reopening could take days to weeks.
- Jefferson Methodist is a 220-bed facility that offers emergency, cancer and neurology care, and the temporary closure has immediate effects on local bed capacity, ambulance routing and family reunification efforts via a hospital hotline.