Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Sunderland, Massachusetts nursing home was damaged by burst fire sprinkler pipe causing extensive ceiling damage.



Sunderland, Massachusetts nursing home was damaged by burst fire sprinkler pipe causing extensive ceiling damage.

SUNDERLAND — A spokesman for the nursing home damaged when a pipe broke Jan. 10 said it hopes to have all residents returned by the end of the week.
More than half of New England Health Center’s 42 residents already have moved back in as repairs continued at the nursing home at 61 Old Amherst Road.
“We have 24 residents who have returned and are doing great,” said Uri Turk, spokesman for the nursing home. “We are hoping to get all of our remaining residents back this week.”
Some of the nursing home’s residents were sent to other facilities owned by its parent company, Synergy Health Centers, and a few residents were able to live with family members as the nursing home cleaned up and repaired the water damage. Four non-ambulatory residents were moved to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.
Damage included a partial ceiling collapse, caused by water from an above-ceiling sprinkler pipe that froze and burst.
“The affected area of east and west halls are still in reconstruction,” Turk said Monday.
The nursing home’s larger south section, an addition to the original structure, was unaffected by the burst pipe, and that is where the returned residents live.
Cleanup and repair crews worked “around the clock,” according to Turk, and it still took more than a week to put things back in order. The sprinkler system has been repaired and awaits inspection by a “third party,” Turk said.
Turk expected final repairs to be finished Monday, with the exception of some painting and trim work.
“The building inspector will be in (Tuesday) to check it out and sign off on everything for occupancy,” Turk said. “We will then submit that info to the state and wait on them.”
Overseen by the state Department of Public Health, the nursing home will need the agency’s approval before the rest of the residents can return. Earlier, 14 residents returned by Thursday, and another 10 came back Friday.
Formerly known as the Cozy Corner Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the nursing home was bought by Synergy in 2012