After being closed for more than a year, the Fanny Allen surgical center in Colchester reopened Monday, the University of Vermont Medical Center announced this week.
The seven-bed center closed in 2020 after air circulation problems sickened staff.
Two of those operating rooms reopened Monday after extensive renovations in the center’s filtration, ventilation, air conditioning and heating units, according to a Tuesday press release.
The press release attributed the 2020 malfunction to an outdated ventilation system that “did not allow for optimal air flow in spaces where staff had reported symptoms such as dizziness and nausea.”
Hospital staff initially plan to use the outpatient center for simple procedures, such as eye surgery and orthopedics procedures for hands and feet, according to the press release.
Three additional operating rooms at Fanny Allen are expected to come back online at a later date, but the timeline for reopening is contingent on adding staff, according to the press release. The UVM Medical Center had workforce troubles even before the pandemic, and these struggles have only grown over the past two years. Hospital officials on Monday said they will spend upward of $5 million they did not budget on pay raises for nurses.
Tuesday’s press release makes no mention of the two other surgical rooms or the costs of the Fanny Allen Campus renovations, but Stephen Leffler, president and chief operating officer, said the hospital’s overall expenses for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 have been higher than budgeted.
UVM Medical Center representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Last month, UVM Medical Center reopened its 34-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit in Colchester after addressing similar air circulation issues there. A UVM Medical Center spokesperson said the newly reopened unit has been successful so far.
