Norwood Hospital ER Could Reopen By The Fall

NORWOOD, MA — Norwood Hospital is still closed after the devastating floods from the June 28th storm, but the hospital emergency room could reopen by the fall.

During the Aug. 25 Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Manager Tony Mazzuco said damage assessment on the hospital is wrapping up and hospital leadership hope to have the emergency room open by the fall. In the wake of the storm, the hospital had a goal of reopening the ER within six weeks.

June's torrential downpour brought four inches of rain to Norwood in less than 90 minutes, flooding the hospital basement, parking lot and damaging vital systems that run through the building including the HVAC and mechanical systems.

Mazzuco explained to Selectmen at the meeting that the hospital withstood tens of millions of dollars of damage. Hospital leadership plans to pursue a full reconstruction of the hospital, which could take years.

Before reconstruction can start, the hospital has to secure the insurance money and has to clear zoning plans in the upcoming Town Meeting. Mazzuco told Selectmen that the process to get to a new hospital is a complex one.

"Its fitting square pegs into round holes," Mazzuco said, "It becomes a challenge of how much do you do to get one section up, then you have to start working on other sections of the building."

In the wake of the flood, Norwood Hospital patients were moved to hospitals across the area and those seeking medical attention were directed to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro and Beth Israel Deaconess Needham.

Norwood declared a State of Emergency at the beginning of July and set up an emergency residential assistance program with $180,000 in funding available to those affected by the storm.