Flood-damaged Misericordia ER to reopen on Friday

The flood-damaged emergency department at the Misericordia Community Hospital is set to partially reopen Friday morning, Alberta Health Services says.

A full range of emergency services at the west-end facility will resume at 7:30 a.m., even though repairs are still ongoing in some sections of the unit, the health authority said in a news release Thursday.

Covenant Health, which operates the Misericordia, plans to use the nearby day surgery area for emergency care while the repairs to the ER are completed.

Day surgeries are being temporarily relocated to the fifth floor of the hospital, but no surgical patients should be affected by the move.

“We would like to thank people for their patience during this temporary closure, and apologize for any inconvenience this unanticipated situation has caused,” Dr. Owen Heisler, chief medical officer for Covenant, said in the news release.

The unit at the 49-year-old hospital has been shut down since Sunday afternoon, when highpressure water line valve connected to a toilet sent water streaming through the ER.

Health leaders initially announced the unit would reopen Wednesday morning but then had to revise their projections.

With the ER closed, patients have been asked to choose among 10 other hospitals and health centres in the region for emergency care.

Repairs at the Misericordia are expected to be fully complete within the next two weeks, AHS said.

The Misericordia’s emergency department handles about 140 patient visits per day on average.