CHPRMS 51st Annual Conference: Navigating Change

This is the story of Signature Healthcare facing the unimaginable. On February 7th, 2023, a
10 alarm fire broke out at its main hospital. With smoke in the building and no electricity, the hospital made the call to evacuate. In all, 91 ambulances, 26 fire trucks, and nearly 300 emergency personnel responded. The impact of the fire was severe. Reopening
wouldn’t be a matter of a few months; it would require replacing the entire electrical system
as well as other infrastructure for the 250,000 square foot building. Reopening would take
over a year – dramatically impacting 460,000 area residents and 2,700 potentially
displaced hospital employees. How would Signature respond? The immediate challenge
was to communicate with and care for local residents (current patients) and Signature
employees while the team worked to reopen the hospital.