Hospital photos reveal ‘pretty nasty’ mess

WINNIPEG — Prairie Mountain Health has released 22 photos depicting the muddy mess in the Dauphin hospital left by floodwater last month that has shut down the regional facility for as long as a year.

Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak said he understands the photos were released in response to criticism from some who wonder why the hospital will be closed for so long.

“(The public) needed to see the scale and the scope of the damage,” he said. “And the pictures that PMH released today, I think have really opened people’s eyes as to what’s gone on at the hospital.”

He said 80 people are working to clean the filthy facility in conditions that are “less than ideal.” Sections of the hospital still have no power and there’s no air circulation as a result.

“It’s very warm, it’s very humid, there’s still a lot of dirt,” he said, calling the scene “pretty nasty” and stressing the full scope of damage has yet to be determined.

“We’re in a bit of a ‘hurry-up-and-wait’ situation to even assess whether, for example, if an X-ray machine just needs to be rebooted, cleaned or completely replaced.”

Bosiak said once crews remove water from the crawlspace and sub-basement, they can start to restore the more critical systems and testing equipment.

“At the end of the day, we will have a renewed, refreshed, upgraded hospital that will serve the citizens of our community,” he said. “Unfortunately, that may take three months, six months, 12 months, a year — or a bit longer.”

The flooding occurred after heavy rain caused the Vermillion River to spill its banks. Fifty-four residents had to be moved to other facilities after the hospital was forced to close. The city declared a state of emergency.

The photos, which were taken July 16, show the pharmacy covered in mud, a dirty hallway filled with debris, and pieces of ventilation and damaged air-conditioning equipment. In another photo, workers who are wearing hazardous-material suits, mop up the mud. In another, a bed is smeared with mud.

Joan Smith, 73, and Steven Roznowsky, 76, longtime residents of Dauphin, said they know how destructive flooding can be because they had about two feet of water in their basement.

“We lost everything that was on the floor, so we understand the power of water,” said Roznowsky. “I don’t blame anybody, we just are sad and disappointed that it happened to the hospital.”

Roznowsky said they need health care in the community and it’s difficult to see the facility in such a state.

“It was a beautiful hospital,” he said.

“I know the engineers are working hard to restore power and to restore the facility the best they can.”

Smith said the outside of the facility is unchanged, but it’s the reverse inside. The photos show computers that have been destroyed.

“It’s going to take a lot of money and a lot of time to get that stuff fixed.”

Premier Wab Kinew has promised his government will work to get the hospital reopened within the year. Patients are advised to go to the Ste. Rose Health Centre or the clinic in Grandview until then.

Seventy-four-year-old Katherine Bryson said while she knows not much can be done, she’s not too happy about the closure.

“They service not only Dauphin, but multiple outlying areas,” she said, noting many people are being put out by having to travel elsewhere for health care.

“Even for blood work, you have to be transferred to a small hospital,” she said. “The problem is, myself included, a lot of the people from this community don’t even have a way to get there.”

The mayor said while there will be an official debriefing once the flood response concludes, there is talk about building up the east bank of the Vermillion River.

Dauphin city council just passed a motion to ask the province for a new river-measuring station at the headwaters of the Vermillion River, noting sewer capacity around the hospital is being examined as well.

“We’re looking at all those options,” Bosiak said.

» Winnipeg Free Press