Seattle hospital to reopen all of its operating rooms that were closed due to mold outbreak that killed 1 and sickened 5 – but families say they haven’t been told if they were affected
- Seattle Children’s Hospital was forced to close all 14 operating rooms to refit the air vents
- A patient at the hospital died from an infection caused by the same mold, Aspergillus
- At first, dozens of surgeries were delayed as the rooms are fumigated and inspected
- In mid-May, officials closed all the operating rooms to completely refit them
- One mother says she called the hotline but they refused to confirm or deny if her son’s 4.5-hour sinus surgery was in one of the affected rooms
Seattle Children’s Hospital is reopening all of its 14 operating rooms that were shuttered after a devastating mold infestation killed one patient and sickened five.
Officials insist the spaces are safe to use with new air vents fitted that are free of Aspergillus.
However, some families say they have not been informed whether they were affected or not.
The mold was first spotted a year ago, though the operating rooms weren’t closed until mid-May, when the scale of infections started rising.
During the eight-week-long clean-up, doctors were forced to perform operations in other parts of the hospital to avoid deadly infections.
Since all 14 operating rooms were closed in mid-May, doctors have been forced to perform operations in other parts of the hospital to avoid deadly infections
One mother, whose son had sinus surgery at the hospital in April, says officials have refused to confirm or deny whether he was in an affected room, saying only that his surgery didn’t sound too serious and she should not worry.
‘He gets sick all the time… I get they have a lot of patients, but, I care about my kid,’ Jodie Puppe, mother of 11-year-old Ryan, told Q13 Fox.
Puppe says her son’s surgery took four-and-a-half hours, rather than the scheduled two, and he has struggled with sinus infections since.
She heard the news about Aspergillus in the hospital, and called the hotline that patients had been encouraged to call.
Aspergillus is a type of fungus that can grow on plants.
They can cause mild infections in people, but it is particularly aggressive in people with compromised or dampened immune systems, such as those undergoing surgery.
Those who are already sick are at higher risk of ‘invasive aspergillosis’, which can cause fever, chest pain, a cough, coughing up blood, and shortness of breath.
The operator who answered Puppe’s call could not confirm or deny whether he was affected, but said that, since Ryan’s operation was non-invasive, he has a lower risk of contracting an infection from Aspergillus than those undergoing, for example, a heart surgery.
‘I want them to tell me what’s going on. I deserve to know,’ Puppe said
‘They’re just like, ok, you have a lower risk, but they’re not really giving us information… So that’s frustrating. It really upsets me actually.
‘I feel like it actually gave even more anxiety just because I’m like OK, now you’re really not giving me any information.’
The hospital spokesperson, Alyse Bernal, said they are working as fast as possible to clear up the situation.
‘Patient safety is our top priority, and we are taking this situation very seriously,’ Bernal said in a news release.
Concerned patients are encouraged to call the hotline: 206-987-1061.