Oakwood Delivers Continual Patient Care Despite Heavy Rainfall in Floods of 2014

Emergency room services at Oakwood Hospital-Dearborn were temporarily interrupted after torrential rains caused flooding in Dearborn and across metro Detroit Monday. (Photo: Oakwood Healthcare System)

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When excessive rainfall and partial flooding adversely impacted its four hospital sites, Oakwood Healthcare System enacted disaster response plans that resulted in continual patient care and outstanding displays of dedication from all segments of its workforce.

Oakwood Hospital-Dearborn (OH-D) experienced the most severe damage from the record rainfall on Monday. The lower level flooded, causing disruption in the Emergency Department as well as damage to a number of storage areas, the Central Sterile Supply, radiology, in-patient pharmacy and the kitchen. In total, about 250,000 square feet of space was flooded with up to eight inches of water in many spots. Many of the 22 elevators were inoperable. As a result, ambulance traffic was diverted, the cafeteria/cafeteria closed and some patients were relocated within the hospital. The administration initiated its internal disaster response plan immediately in order to handle to the unfolding emergency.

Within the first few hours of the flooding, OH-D staff successfully relocated patients comfortably, implemented contingency plans for walk-in patients and other emergency cases and continued food services for its patients by acquiring food from a nearby Meijer store. With limited access to elevators, employees came together to form a “human conveyor belt” to deliver regularly scheduled meals to all patients on time.

“Our team came together in an incredible way to respond to this unpredictable set of circumstances,” said Kelly Smith, division president of Oakwood Hospital – Dearborn. “We routinely prepare ourselves to handle any emergency situation and that preparation paid off and was on full display. We successfully maintained seamless patient care and patient safety, despite the significant challenges posed by Monday’s record storm.”

Oakwood Hospital-Southshore (OH-S), Oakwood Hospital-Taylor (OH-T) and Oakwood Hospital-Wayne (OH-W) did not experience such an adverse impact as OH-D, however minor flood damage was reported at each site. Patient care was not impacted.

Many employees system wide worked overtime to help with managing the changing circumstances and augmented operations.

Currently, all operations at OH-S, OH-T and OH-W are functioning normally.

Within 48 hours, the emergency department at OH-D was able to accept ambulance traffic once more, including trauma patients and Operating Room (OR) services were fully back online. By the end of the week, the majority of services had been restored, including full hot food service and imaging programs.

All Oakwood site leaders have asked their staff to review resources that could be deployed to Dearborn if needed.

“I am extremely proud of the dedication and teamwork each of our employees system wide have displayed over the past few days,” said Brian Connolly, president and CEO of Oakwood Healthcare. “I’ve heard many outstanding stories of how OH-D team members and doctors made sure that the wellbeing of our patients always came first, despite challenging conditions. Those efforts to go above and beyond should be highlighted and I am honored to be a part of such a committed team.”

Source: Oakwood Healthcare System news release