LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday afternoon, Sutter Lakeside Hospital reopened its doors to patients 12 days after the Mendocino Complex fire forced the evacuation of the 25-bed hospital.
As of its Friday reopening, Sutter Lakeside Hospital is again offering full inpatient and emergency care services. Elective procedures will resume at a later date.
Two rural health clinics, Sutter Lakeside Family Medicine Clinic at 5176 Hill Road East and Sutter Lakeside Community Clinic at 5196 Hill Road East, Suite 300, will open Monday, Aug.13 at 8 a.m.
The Sutter Care at Home office at 889 11th St. in Lakeport has been open since Monday, Aug. 6.
“Sutter Lakeside Hospital is a life-saving resource for the region’s most acutely ill patients,” said Dan Peterson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
The hospital is the only trauma center in Lake County and maintains Level IV designation – the hospital industry’s fourth highest category – for the treatment of auto accidents, burns, falls, etc. The critical access hospital is also the only certified stroke center in Lake County.
“We safely evacuated 20 patients, all our staff and physicians,” said Teresa Campbell, chief nursing executive, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “Only a small group of us stayed behind to protect the hospital’s resources. We also held our breath – along with the rest of the community– waiting to see what the winds would do.”
While the hospital was closed, patients who needed acute care were transferred to other nearby community hospitals for treatment.
“Because Sutter Health is an integrated health system with services and locations across Northern California, we are able to quickly marshal resources and help provide our patients and this community in need with immediate, ongoing access to medical treatments and services,” said James Conforti, chief operating officer, Sutter Health.
As soon as the evacuation order was lifted, staff worked around the clock to prepare the facility for repopulation.
“We are looking forward to once again delivering care with compassion and excellence,” remarked Peterson.
On July 29, two outpatient care centers, Sutter Lakeside Family Medicine Clinic and Sutter Lakeside Community Clinic, were also closed while accessibility, safety, fire and smoke damage were assessed and abated.
“Together these clinics provide primary care to 10,000 patients a year and allow many more patients to see specialists in the disciplines of cardiology, podiatry, obstetrics and sports medicine,” said Leeann Hadgis, director of Sutter Lakeside ambulatory clinics. “We serve every age group and provide everything from preventative care to chronic disease management here. Our goal is to return to full capacity as quickly as possible so we can help our patients – who are our neighbors – get back to good health.”
In the midst of the fire, Lakeside Home Health branch of Sutter Care at Home continued to care for vulnerable patients.
Despite the closure of their office, located at 889 11th St., Lakeport, home health employees continued to provide services for patients.
Under the most difficult circumstances, the Lakeside home health team worked around the clock to ensure that patients were accounted for and received the critical care that they need, hospital officials said.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital reopens; Mendocino Complex had forced facility closure
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On