PRESS RELEASES
Addison Gilbert Hospital and Gloucester Water Issues
Addison Gilbert Hospital Remains Open Throughout Municipal Water Issues
Hospital carefully monitors situation and responds to protect health and well-being of patients
(Gloucester, Mass.) – August 26, 2009 – Addison Gilbert Hospital announced today that its Incident Command Center continues to monitor the municipal water situation in Gloucester and to work proactively to adjust the Hospital’s response plan accordingly. Addison Gilbert Hospital has remained open and has taken several measures to ensure that it will continue to provide health services to Cape Ann residents throughout this situation.
“Our focus during this situation in the City of Gloucester has been the health and well-being of our patients,” said Cynthia Cafasso Donaldson, vice president of ancillary services for Northeast Hospital Corporation, which includes Addison Gilbert Hospital. “We are making a concerted effort to keep any inconvenience to our patients and their families minimal while still providing them with the required care in the safest way possible.”
In order to continue to protect the health and well-being of patients at Addison Gilbert, the Hospital has instituted several actions including relocating surgeries; temporarily treating and transferring patients requiring certain medical procedures, such as dialysis; using bottled water for drinking; using disposable wash kits for all patient cleansing needs; utilizing hand sanitizers as appropriate for hand washing needs and using disposable plates and utensils for food service.
“We are hopeful that the water situation in Gloucester will be rectified in the near future,” said Henry J. Ramini, MD, president and CEO of Northeast Health System, which includes Addison Gilbert. “We recognize the importance of our role in the community as a healthcare provider and will continue to work proactively to ensure that we are able to maintain that role throughout these challenging circumstances.”
Addison Gilbert Hospital continues to monitor the situation closely and work with the City of Gloucester and Gloucester Health Department to reassess its actions as the circumstances progress.
Addison Gilbert Hospital
Addison Gilbert Hospital is a full-service, 58-bed medical/surgical acute care facility. The hospital provides inpatient and outpatient care to residents of the Cape Ann community in specialties such as cancer care, surgical day care, critical care and emergency medicine. Addison Gilbert Hospital has been nationally recognized by Solucient Institute as a 100 Top Hospital five times in the past eight years. Addison Gilbert Hospital is a member of Northeast Health System.
