@heraldcourier

Roundabout construction project begins in Blountville

@BalladHealth

Updated Public Notice, April 16, as of 9 p.m. – Temporary service modifications at Franklin Woods Community Hospital

Franklin Woods Community Hospital continues to experience a failure of its boiler system, which has impacted several critical areas of the hospital. All inpatients were successfully transferred to sister facilities within Ballad Health as of 9 p.m. on April 15.

System engineers and staff are actively working with third-party engineering teams and vendors to provide an alternative system until permanent system replacements can be installed.

What this means for patients:

• Labor and delivery: If you are in labor or have an upcoming delivery planned, please contact your OB/GYN before coming to the hospital. All deliveries will be redirected to Indian Path Community Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee. Obstetric physicians can provide service at both locations, and emergency deliveries will be handled using the same protocols to ensure safe transfer to Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children’s Hospital, if needed.

• Inpatient care: All inpatients were successfully transferred to sister facilities within Ballad Health. Inpatient services remain suspended.

• Emergency department: The ER remains open, with auxiliary heating units now in place. Patients requiring inpatient care will be stabilized and transferred to the appropriate facility.

• Surgical services: Elective surgeries at Franklin Woods Community Hospital remain postponed. Impacted patients will be contacted directly by our team.

• Outpatient services: Radiology and lab procedures scheduled at Franklin Woods Community Hospital have been rescheduled or postponed. Impacted patients will be contacted directly by our team.

We will provide another public update within 24 hours.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to restore full operations as quickly as possible. Additional information will be shared as the situation develops. #balladhealth