Most services restored at Banner Hospital

Most services at Banner Churchill Community Hospital have been restored after a broken water pipe flooded portions of the west wing on Tuesday morning.

The hospital had temporarily diverted ambulance traffic from surrounding communities to medical facilities in Reno, said spokesman Paul Mitchell, but Banner Churchill began receiving those ambulances again at 3:19 p.m. Tuesday. Banner Churchill ambulances and ambulances from Naval Air Station Fallon were not affected by the incident.

Mitchell said the flood was caused by a rupture in a one-inch clean water pipe in an empty patient room about 11 a.m. Tuesday morning. No patients were harmed, but he said six patients in the 15-bed medical/surgical unit were moved to the east wing.

The west wing remained closed to patients Wednesday, but hospital officials expect to reopen five patient rooms there today.

By Wednesday, Mitchell said facility crews had replaced all ceiling tiles damaged that sustained water damage, and operating rooms and medical imaging were back to normal operations. One nuclear imaging machine is undergoing a full assessment before it will be returned to service.

“This was an unfortunate situation, but I am really proud of the way our entire astaff responded,” said hospital Chief Executive Officer John D’Angelo. “They ensured our patients remained safe and well cared for throughout this incident and they worked quickly to get our operations back to full speed.”