JCH sustains water damage

Jay County Hospital sustained thousands of dollars worth of damage and had to close sections of the facility following a water line break Saturday afternoon.

Located between the west entrance and conference room A, the line that is part of the hospital’s fire suppression system froze and burst about 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Pressurized to 60 pounds per square inch, the pipe sent water spewing out and flooded the conference rooms, the human resources department, the cafeteria, the foundation/marketing offices, parts of Family First Healthcare and part of the administrative section.

“That’s a lot of water coming out really fast,” hospital CEO Dave Hyatt said this morning.

It took about 25 minutes for the maintenance staff to completely shut off the leak, he said.

The west entrance was closed, and the cafeteria was out of service for more than two days. Both were re-opened this morning.

About 30 hospital employees rushed to the facility to help get the flooding under control and clean up the water, Hyatt said. They were there until about 7 p.m. Saturday.

Servpro, a company that specializes in fire and water cleanup, was brought in to handle the conference rooms.

Hyatt said at one point 50 floor fans were in operation in an effort to dry out the effected areas. That number was 35 as of about 10 a.m. today.

A damage estimate was not available this morning, with insurance company representatives are expected to visit the facility in the next 48 hours. Hyatt said he expects the damage total will easily surpass the hospital’s $10,000 deductible.

But, he added, because the flooding was isolated mostly to offices and conference rooms, patient care was not interrupted.

“While it was a major disaster, we got lucky, in a sense, that it wasn’t in a patient care area,” said Hyatt.

He added that much of the drywall and carpeting seems to be in good shape, but some vinyl tile near the elevators may need to be replaced. He also emphasized that infection prevention will be a key factor when it comes to mold.

“If we think there’s any risk at all, we’ll replace,” he said.

The burst was attributed to the extreme cold — the high Saturday was 14 degrees — and the fact that the effected line runs along a steel structural support beam. Hyatt said that line will likely be re-routed to prevent similar problems in the future and that the hospital is keeping an eye on other possible problem areas with highs expected to be in the single digits and teens through at least Saturday.

An American Red Cross blood drive that was scheduled for Wednesday was postponed because of the flooding. It has been rescheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the hospital.