Flooding forces Misericordia to cancel surgeries

A flood forced Edmonton's Misericordia Community Hospital to cancel all elective surgeries Friday after a valve ruptured while a toilet was being repaired late last night.

Water leaked down several floors on the west side of the building, forcing dozens of patients to be moved and causing substantial damage.

One of those patients was Brian Powlouski.

"We got woken up shortly after midnight and we were asked to evacuate the floor because we had flooding above," he said. "So, from the third floor door, water was pouring through the light fixtures down onto the floor in the hallway."

The water continued to seep down to the main floor areas, affecting the gift shop, IRSM and diagnostic imaging.

Areas in the basement have also suffered damage.

Powlouski said the water coming through the fixtures had him worried about being electrocuted.

Eventually, many patients ended up in the outpatient ward where they were able to sleep the remainder of the night, he said.

Altogether, 53 patients were moved, 25 medical and 28 from the mental health section.

All 46 elective surgeries scheduled for today were cancelled in the wake of the flood, said hospital spokesperson Rayne Kuntz.

Covenant Health, which runs the hospital, is working with Alberta Health Services to find placements for the affected mental health patients this weekend.

It is unknown how long the units will remain closed.

But Powlouski says it may take a while, from what he's heard.

"It was more than a trickle," he said, "They figure they’re out for between two and three months repairing the electricity [alone]."