By Bill Lukitsch
The Kansas City Star
LIBERTY, Mo. — Patients at Liberty Hospital were moved to other facilities Tuesday as the Northland healthcare facility was dealing with downed computer systems.
The disruption, the source of which was under investigation, began early Tuesday morning and prompted the decision to move patients for continued care, said Michelle Manuel, a spokeswoman for Liberty Hospital.
“The safety of our patients is our utmost priority,” Manuel, whose email and office line were down Tuesday, said in a text message to The Star. “After evaluating the care of every inpatient, we made the decision to transfer certain patients to other hospitals today.”
It was unclear how long the issue would persist. The full scope of the impact to hospital services was still being evaluated, Manuel said, as “we are working to restore functionality as soon as possible.”
People seeking emergency care were encouraged to visit other hospital emergency rooms while the issues at Liberty continued. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Manuel said the hospital continues to experience disruptions and investigate the issue.
No additional patients were transferred to other facilities overnight, and primary and specialty care clinics will see certain patients but are reaching out to others to reschedule as needed.
The technology problems led Liberty Hospital to seek assistance with ambulances from area fire and emergency medical services, including the Kansas City Fire Department.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Battalion Chief Mike Hopkins said Kansas City had sent a few ambulances to help as part of its partnership with the Mid-America Regional Council’s ambulance strike team.
Those teams are organized by MARC to coordinate large-scale emergency responses.
As of Tuesday evening, Hopkins said KCFD and other members of the strike team had transported about 30 patients. Another 10 or 15 were taken to other hospitals by Liberty emergency medical services, Hopkins said.
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