SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Surgery delays continued at Kaiser Permanente’s Zion Medical Center in Grantville after a water supply issue was identified over a week ago.
Several patients reported their canceled surgeries to ABC 10News’ tip line. One those patients, Ross Hunter, needed a total replacement on his right knee and his surgery was set for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
However, when Hunter and his wife arrived for surgery, they were told it was canceled because of a water problem at the hospital. The hospital told them they were notified with a voicemail on Tuesday. The couple admitted they missed the voicemail.
In mid-May, Kaiser told ABC 10News an issue involving hot water lines at the facility was to blame for the canceled surgeries. Back then, they said things were “fully operational” by Sunday, May 21.
RELATED: Water issue leads to postponement of surgeries at Zion Medical Center
On Wednesday, Kaiser officials told ABC 10News they were working as quickly as possible to accommodate all patients impacted and are currently scheduling emergent surgical cases.
Hunter is self-employed and missing work. His wife took two weeks off to help care for him, and now the couple has to wait until Kaiser calls them to reschedule.
Kaiser said they anticipate resuming non-emergent surgeries and medical procedures at the Zion location by early next week.
Kaiser’s complete statement:
At Kaiser Permanente, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of safety for our patients, members, and caregivers. On Wednesday, May 17, staff at Kaiser Permanente’s Zion Medical Center identified an issue involving the hot water lines at the facility. The source was identified as an isolated mechanical issue impacting our hot water system and we have confirmed there was no impact to our cold-water system.
Out of an abundance of caution, scheduled surgical procedures at the Zion Medical Center were initially postponed, and emergency water supply measures were put in place - including providing safe water in all areas of the medical center. Surgeries and other procedures that were impacted by the hot water issue were reviewed on an individual basis. If circumstances warranted, some patients were routed or transferred to the San Diego Medical Center for care.
No patients, caregivers or visitors to Zion Medical Center have been harmed or placed at risk. The Zion Medical Center hot water line was cleaned, inspected and operational by approximately 3:30PM on Sunday, May 21 and no contamination was found.
We continue to work as quickly as possible to accommodate all patients impacted by this issue and are currently scheduling emergent surgical cases. We anticipate non-emergent surgeries and medical procedures to resume at our Zion Medical Center early next week.
