Surgeries and appointments have been canceled for Tuesday at the Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center as the facility grapples with an ongoing water shutdown, staff said Monday.
Procedures were scrapped for Monday as well after a water main break left the hospital at 5601 De Soto Ave. without running water. A temporary line was installed Monday afternoon, but it can’t be used until water samples pass testing, which takes up to 48 hours, said Murtaza Sanwari, Kaiser’s area manager for the Woodland Hills facility.
Sanwari said he anticipates the lab results Wednesday evening, with running water restored Thursday at the earliest.
Patients whose appointments are affected have been contacted individually, according to Dr. Greg Kelman, the location’s medical director. Dozens of surgeries have been postponed or transferred, but appointments at other buildings have not been impacted, he said.
The issue arose after a planned shutoff Saturday to allow for “routine, essential repairs” to the main that delivers water to the campus, Sanwari said.
“Unfortunately, when the water was brought back on, a leak was discovered,” he said. “Repairs were made, but they did not hold.”
Officials determined the water main must be completely replaced, so the temporary line has been installed as a stopgap while the longer-term repair is undertaken.
Before Saturday’s shutoff, administrators brought in portable toilets and stocked adequate bottled water for hygiene, consumption and emergencies like the one they’re experiencing, Sanwari said.
“Hospitals are designed to address emergency situations, and we continue to partner with other facilities in the community, as well as our sister facilities, to ensure the safe care of our patients,” he said.
At least 70 patients remain in the hospital after “a couple dozen” were moved out, some of them discharged to home and others to different locations, Sanwari said.
Kelman says Woodland Hills has been working with neighboring Kaiser Permanente medical centers to schedule necessary procedures at their facilities.
