FARMINGTON – A damaged air handler unit has resulted in some previously-scheduled surgeries not taking place at Franklin Memorial Hospital this weekend.
According to Becky Wood, the Chief Nursing Officer and vice president of patient care, the air handler unit that services the operating room became damaged Friday. The fan built into the unit failed and went into the motor, causing the entire air handler to stop operating.
As a result, the hospital’s surgical suite has not been able to maintain the internal temperature and humidity control required to conduct major surgeries. Patients with major surgeries scheduled over the weekend have been alerted on a case-by-case basis. Wood estimated that seven such surgeries had been cancelled so far.
Wood noted that the environmental control issue did not impact minor surgeries, such as colonoscopies, and those procedures had continued as previously scheduled.
FMH has been in contact with the manufacturer of the HVAC system and expects to find out tomorrow if a new motor could be transplanted into the air handler. If that is possible, the operating room could be up and running mid-week; Wood estimated that it would take between two and four hours to reestablish the proper internal conditions after the air handler comes online.
If a transplant is not possible, FMH anticipates having replacement parts built for the air handler and installed by the end of the week. In that case, Wood said, the OR could be once again conducting all scheduled surgeries by Monday.
Patients with a scheduled procedure at FMH will be contacted if their procedure will be impacted by the issue, Wood said. FMH intends to put out more information tomorrow, after learning whether the transplanted motor solution will work.
No other hospital business has been impacted by the failure of the air handler. Anyone with an appointment or meeting at FMH this week should assume it will continue as scheduled, unless contacted by the hospital.
[Editor’s Note: We’ve corrected the name of FMH’s Chief Nursing Officer and vice president of patient care to Becky Wood.]
