Despite the destruction of the Admissions Office of the St Joseph Mercy Hospital by fire, computerised records of patients from 1997 to present were saved on a back-up disc
This will be welcome news for many former patients who had feared that their records were destroyed in the conflagration that struck two Mondays ago.
And after a weekend of intense clearing of debris, a pile of rubble is all that remains in the spot where the main administrative building of the Mercy Hospital once stood.
While the hospital continues to put measures in place to offer its services to the public, Georgeina Mentore, Human Resources Director said that it will take a while for the hospital to return to a state of normalcy.
She said that the fire has deeply affected persons who have worked at the institution for many years and it will take some time to recover from this tragedy. She said when she was told by a friend that the building was on fire, she was in disbelief. However upon confirmation, she hurriedly made her way to the site. Upon seeing the building ablaze, she could not contain her tears.
While recounting the incident, the sadness is evident in her voice and is seen in her eyes as she looks at the burnt out site. She has worked at the institution for the last twenty-three years.
However, she is optimistic about the future; as she said “we’re gonna come back better.” However she could not comment on when plans for its rebuilding will be put in place and the insured value of the building. However she noted that the insurance company conducted its assessment of the site last week.
Commenting on the resumed operations of the hospital, Mentore said that the hospital’s in-house doctors are once again offering their services at the hospital site. While there has been a merging of departments in order to make room for the doctors, she said that everyone is being accommodated at the hospital.
The most affected services at the hospital are the emergency and operating rooms. These rooms along with their equipment were destroyed in the fire. Thus, the institution is unable to offer any 24-hr emergency care and its operating service has been temporarily suspended.
During the weekend clean-up exercise, a few personal items belonging to nurses and a binder of records were found. It is expected that the exercise will continue over the coming weekend.
Last week a fire of unknown origin destroyed the main administrative building of the hospital. A cooperative effort by staff, police and firemen saw the patients in an adjoining wing being evacuated, they are currently being housed at the Davis Memorial Hospital.
Efforts to contact the fire chief for a comment on the investigation into the fire have so far proved futile.
