Crime & Safety
Flooding And Evacuation Of Lake Forest Hospital Explained
The new building would not have flooded if it had been finished, according to the president of Lake Forest Hospital.
LAKE FOREST, IL — The flooding that forced the evacuation and closure of Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital would not have happened if a new building currently under construction was completed. Hospital president Thomas McAfee told Daily North Shore the new hospital would not have flooded if it had been completed.
Flooding damaged the hospital's electrical equipment early Wednesday, which kicked off emergency repairs, McAfee said. By 9 a.m., lower levels of the medical buildings were flooded and the emergency room was taking on water, according to the Lake Forester.
Emergency generators failed around 4:30 p.m., and power wasn't restored until 8:45 p.m. Over the course of 14 hours, 6.7 inches of rain fell in Lake Forest, public works officials told the paper. During that period, 93 patients were evacuated to other facilities, according to the hospital. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Lake Forest — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)
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McAfee said hospital officials decided to evacuate after 10 hours working off of backup power and while awaiting the return of parts being shipped from Wisconsin, according to DNS.
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A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health could not recall any other hospital in the state being forced to conduct such an evacuation in the past decade, the Lake Forester reported.
McAfee told DNS most of the patients were mostly transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to maintain continuity of care.
McAfee said a command center was set up at the new hospital, which had power through backup generators. Although the new building has enough backup power to power the hospital as well as parts of the city, the two electrical systems are not connected, he told the website.
The new building had minor flood damage to its flooring and drywall, which McAfee said would not delay the project's completion.
» Read more from Daily North Shore and the Lake Forester
Top photo: Northwestern Memorial Lake Forest Hospital | via Patch archive
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