Burst pipes shows the urgent needs of Wishard

Late last night a critical steam pipe burst at Wishard Hospital. As a result, the main operating rooms were forced to shut down and at least 15 operations were forced to be postponed.

The steam in that pipe is used, among other things, to sterilize surgical instruments. Eventually the surgical staff ran out of usable tools and was forced to cease operations.

These are the kind of systematic failures Wishard's staff fears on a daily basis and has to work around only slightly less often.

"These are exactly the kind of systematic failures we worry about everyday here," Wishard CEO and medical director Dr. Lisa Harris said in a story on WISH-TV's Web site. "This is a big part of the reason why we must build a new Wishard Hospital now – not later."

The trauma center remained open as it maintains a separate collection of instruments for emergencies, but had there been a multiple trauma event - something like yesterday's tanker explosion on I-69 or the paint truck fire from a few years ago - Wishard would not have been able to met the need.

Wishard is home to one of only two Adult Level I Trauma Centers in Indiana. Halve that number in a crisis, and bad becomes catastrophic instantly.

Fortunately no such disaster occurred, but this failure should strengthen the resolve of every Marion County voter to vote "Yes" for a new Wishard Hospital.

We cannot afford not to.

To learn more about the Wishard Referendum, visit WishardYes.org.