Overview
- The campus declared a Code Black and halted ambulance arrivals after failures in heating and water systems.
- Staff discovered a large valve break just before 6 p.m., flooding the basement and cutting heat across the hospital in subfreezing conditions.
- Leadership decided around 10 p.m. to relocate inpatients, and more than 70 patients were transported by ambulance to other facilities, with families notified.
- Inpatient services remain suspended; the emergency department accepts walk-ins only, and most outpatient care is closed except mammography, with admitted patients transferred out.
- UMass Memorial reports the valve problem is resolved and water removed as mitigation continues; the cause is under review, and fire officials have cleared the scene.