Broken Water Line Causes Significant Water Damage To Midwest City Heart Hospital

Administrators are hoping to re-open part of Midwest City's Heart Hospital soon, despite major water damage caused by a broken pipe.

Stan Holm, the CEO of Midwest Regional Hospital, says a pipe under the building burst Thursday, flooding the ground floor with at least four inches of water and forcing the hospital to close. Dozens of doctors and patients scrambled to get out.

Engineers have spent hours trying to pump out the water. On Friday, the hospital released new pictures taken inside the building. They showed several inches of dirty water standing in operating rooms, waiting rooms, and hallways. The Midwest City Fire Department says the building received no structural damage, but the entire first floor sustained significant water damage.

7/12/2012 Related Story: Heart Hospital In Midwest City Remains Closed Following Flood

Because of the damage, the concrete slab flooring underneath three surgical operating rooms in the southwest corner of the building will likely have to be removed and replaced. There were 600 surgeries scheduled to take place at the hospital in the next 30 days. Holm says the hospital is trying to keep those appointments, and maintain the health of all patients.

"We're looking now at how we're going to accommodate them all here, keep them in the community and take care of them," said Holm. "Always in health care, we prepare all the time for disasters and emergency situations. The teams over there knew what to do."

David Richardson with the Midwest City Fire Department says the hospital hopes to re-open floors two through four on Monday. All systems will be checked over the weekend to make sure they are operational.

The ground floor may not re-open for another month.