Madera’s lone general-use public hospital is shuttering its emergency room for 34 hours this week, the hospital announced Tuesday morning.
California health regulators granted Madera Community Hospital a waiver to shutter its emergency room to allow for hospital officials to replace the air handler, including the air conditioner.
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The closure of Madera Community’s emergency room begins at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday.
The hospital, in a statement issued, said it will spend the first eight to twelve hours of its closure focused on caring for existing emergency room patients.
From there, a so-called “hot change out” of the air handler unit will occur, lasting about two hours. For the remaining 12 hours, mechanics will engage in electrical and plumbing work along with control balancing of the system.
The hospital expects to reopen its ER at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 10.
RapidCare, a walk-in clinic located on the campus of Madera Community, will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday to provide care for non-emergency patients.
Nearby emergency rooms that will remain open during the Madera Community ER closure include Community Regional Medical Center and St. Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, Clovis Community Medical Center in Clovis, Mercy Medical Center in Merced, and Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera.
