N.H. hospital reopens ER closed by mystery illness

Mysterious odor contributed to sickening of 20 operating room staff members


The Emergency Department of Exeter Hospital in Exeter, N.H., reopened 27 hours after a mysterious odor contributed to the sudden sickening of 20 operating room staff members, according to an article on the Union Leader website.

The ER was closed because it is directly above the inpatient operating rooms where hospital workers began feeling dizzy and nauseated.

Twelve hospital workers were taken to other hospitals; the rest were treated and released. 

“We sampled air. We sampled — everything normal. Filtration, everything in the OR and the ED and found nothing that would’ve caused this,” Assistant Fire Chief Eric Wilking said in the article.

Read the article.

 

 



August 23, 2017


Topic Area: Safety


Recent Posts

The Fatal Flaws in Active Shooter Response in Healthcare Facilities

The most effective solutions to workplace violence are sophisticated emergency response planning and master level training for all employees.


Utah Hospital Outage Highlights Backup Power and Resiliency Challenges

The hospital went without power for nearly two hours.


Ground Broken on New North Dakota State Hospital

The 300,000-square-foot facility in Jamestown will provide 140 beds in a modern, trauma-informed care environment.


Form Your Pit Crew: Key Takeaways From the 2025 Healthcare Innovations Conference

The Healthcare Innovations Conference brought together healthcare facility managers from across the country to collaborate on industry issues.


Glens Falls Hospital Caught Up in Oracle Health Data Breach

As of November 2, 2024, Glens Falls Hospital no longer uses Oracle Health/Cerner as its electronic health record vendor.


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.