NORWOOD, Mass. — Norwood Hospital is closed after it was heavily damaged by this past weekend’s storm. Boston 25 News was there after two lawmakers toured the facility Wednesday and they said it could be months before it reopens.
The freak flooding left a mess outside and inside the hospital. Three days later, the hospital remains temporarily closed.
State Representative John Rogers and State Senator Mike Rush toured the damage with the hospital's president.
“The damage is really bad but what was really inspiring is where they have gone from Monday to today,” Sen. Rush said. “Everyone would love to see this hospital open in some fashion this summer. I don’t know if that is a realistic goal, but if it reopened in the fall then that is acceptable.”
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The hospital told Boston 25 News that they are 72 hours out from a major flooding event and working to assess the damage and the next steps.
"Time is of the essence, but if anyone told Robert a date, July or August, then they would be disingenuous," State Rep. Rogers said.
First responders are researching how the dozens of communities around Norwood will be impacted.
"We're going to have to try to figure out which hospitals provide the service we are looking for," said Chief William Brooks of Norwood Police.
Because not everyone knows the hospital is closed, they have an ambulance there posted 24/7 making sure nobody shows up needing emergency care.
Related: Norwood declares state of emergency after Sunday’s heavy rain, flash flooding
“Inevitably you are going to have someone show up who didn’t hear about the closure,” said the Brewster Ambulance Director of Boston Operations. “This morning, at 3:27, we took a lady out who showed up with abdominal pain. Within 90 seconds she was in the back of an ambulance on her way to another surrounding facility.”
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