Several healthcare facilities belonging to New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System reopened Jan. 18 after low water pressure forced the health system to temporarily close select facilities and cancel elective surgery operations earlier that day, The Times-Picayune reports.
In a statement on its website Jan. 18, Ochsner Health System said, "Water service has been restored to Ochsner Medical Center-Jefferson Highway and Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner. Both hospitals, as well as all other Ochsner hospitals and area clinics are operating under normal business hours."
The health system said all elective surgeries and procedures are operating on schedule Jan. 19. However, officials noted, "The East Bank of Jefferson Parish is still under a boil water advisory and all Ochsner facilities continue to operate accordingly and monitor the situation closely."
An Ochsner spokesperson told The Times-Picayune Jan. 18 Ochsner Medical Center-Jefferson Highway and Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner were forced to "[identify] alternative water sources" after a drop in water pressure due to the colder weather affected the facilities' water supply.
The water pressure conditions also reportedly affected two Tulane Medical Center outpatient clinics. A spokesperson for the health system told The Times-Picayune Jan. 18 the clinics will remain closed Jan. 19 due to continued low water pressure.
Both of Tulane's hospitals were unaffected and are operating as normal, the spokesperson told the publication.
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