UPDATED STORY: Emily P. Bissell Hospital to remain closed permanently
BRANDYWINE SPRINGS, DELAWARE (2/17/2015) Residents of Emily P. Bissell Hospital will be moved to other nursing homes, state officials announced today.
The decision by Rita Landgraf, secretary of the state Department of Health and Social Services, came after months of problems with the hot-water system at the hospital on Newport Gap Pike.
The boiler that provides hot water failed completely on Feb. 6, and a temporary system has been used since then, said Jill Fredel, communications director for the department. But she said a permanent replacement would take as long as six months to install.
Two other boilers provide heat to the building and hot water to the kitchen.
The transfer of the 48 residents will be done by March 31.
“Our priority is to keep the residents healthy, safe and comfortable,” Landgraf said.
She said all residents and their families have been notified about the move.
Landgraf said the department is exploring with residents moves to the state-run Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City, the Delaware Hospital for the Chronically Ill in Smyrna, private nursing homes or placements in the community.
Emily P. Bissell Hospital was founded in the early 1900s to provide care to people diagnosed with tuberculosis, Fredel said. Today, it provides skilled and intermediate care on the 50-acre campus.