Spencer Hospital Surgery Center Reopens

posted on Thursday, January 24, 2019 in General

Spencer Hospital’s surgery center has reopened as of Thursday afternoon and procedures scheduled for Friday, Jan. 25 will occur as planned. A representative of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) traveled to Spencer Thursday afternoon to inspect and approve the reopening of the area, which was impacted by smoke damage during an equipment fire Monday.  

“It’s been a challenging few days as we have not been able to perform surgery as usual, yet the patience and understanding of patients, surgeons and our hospital team ha have been outstanding,” said Spencer Hospital president Bill Bumgarner. “Our first priority this week has been to return to usual operations so we can serve our patients.”

Bumgarner said the fire marshal has investigated the incident yet an official ruling for the cause of the equipment fire has not been released.  Just after 5 PM on Monday, a hospital staff member in the surgical equipment sterilization area smelled smoke and noticed sparks escaping from one of the washer units. Immediately a fire alarm was pulled and the sparks were extinguished by the sprinkler system. Due to the spread of smoke in other areas of the hospital, 16 patients were transferred to neighboring facilities.

“We appreciate the assistance and collaboration of so many – our patients, our co-workers, medical staff, the area ambulance services which responded rapidly to help transport patients and the area hospitals who ready provided care for those patients,” Bumgarner said. “While an unfortunate situation, it is refreshing to see how people respond with their best.”