SALISBURY, N.C. -- Novant Health Rowan Medical Center in Salisbury was forced to halt all surgeries late Wednesday night, after rain flooded the first floor of the hospital.
Dari Caldwell, the hospital’s presidents said she first received word around midnight.
“First call I got was from one of our surgeons saying there’s water coming into the operating room,” she said.
Caldwell said when she arrived at the hospital, an estimated three to four inches of water had filled the first floor.
NBC Charlotte meteorologist Brad Panovich says the area received between three and four inches of rain Wednesday.
“The water was covering like 30-percent of the first floor of the hospital, so it was already down the corridors, it was going into offices, it was pretty much everywhere,” she said.
Caldwell says the hospital immediately went into disaster mode, opening a command center, which worked to make sure everyone was safe.
She said they also shut down all operating rooms and began to cancel all elective surgeries, saying all operating rooms will remain closed, while restoration experts assess and try to repair the damage.
“We have two operating rooms on the 4th floor that are our cesarean/delivery ORs and we are able to do emergencies in one of those if we have an emergency, but until Monday all of our ORs are closed.
We also have our Julian Roads Surgery Center over across town so we have some patients who have been rerouted to that surgery center today and can be accommodated there,” she said.
Caldwell said now that the water is removed, restoration experts will be assessing damage to the drywall, floors and equipment.
The hospital is hoping to reopen the operating rooms by Monday.