Three months after Hurricane Sandy pummeled through New York City, the President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) Alan D. Aviles, announced that Bellevue Hospital has re-opened.
Bellevue is the oldest hospital in the United States, founded in 1736 and had to be evacuated for the first time in its 276-year history. The effects of Sandy were immensely intense and caused water to be pushed ashore over New York City. Bellevue's entire basement became flooded with millions of gallons of water, damaging important equipment that is required to keep the hospital running.
Restoration work was going on to replace or repair over 250 pieces of equipment that the facility relies upon. Some equipment, such as electrical switching gear had to be relocated from the basement to the first floor of the hospital. "It has been a labor of almost unimaginable scope, but Bellevue is back," said Aviles in a press release.
The hospital is fully running and all 828 inpatient beds are open and its Level 1 Trauma Center status has resumed to once again serving the community's need for critical healthcare. "My gratitude and respect goes out to the army of professionals and laborers from HHC and almost every trade who worked around the clock for over three months to restore Bellevue. It's because of their dedication that the hospital is once again able to admit patients, perform surgeries, receive critical ambulance cases and function as a Level 1 Trauma Center," said Aviles about the reopening.
The New York State Department of Health and State Office of Mental Health approved the re-opening after inspecting the facilities on Tuesday and Wednesday. All services have been restored including inpatient admissions, intensive care capabilities, and trauma and inpatient behavioral health services. Within the next few days, some of the hospital's outpatient clinics that were relocated to other HHC facilities will return to Bellevue.
After Sandy, restoration on the hospital began almost immediately, allowing several primary clinics, 24-hour walk-in care and pharmacy services to re-open on November 19, which was in less than three weeks of closing. The emergency department was re-opened in limited capacity in December.
