Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is back to full operating status Wednesday morning after fire crews were called to the hospital to help decontaminate medical staff and a patient following a chemical exposure incident at the patient's workplace, according to the fire department.
The incident unfolded around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday when a medical helicopter arriving at the hospital delivered a patient who had been exposed to some sort of chemical, according to San Jose Fire Department Capt. Brad Cloutier.
During the course of the patient's treatment, they experienced some sort of respiratory issues, which ended up exposing a number of first responders to the same chemical that plagued the patient, according to Cloutier.
Fire crews and hospital staff were able to decominate those affected with soap and water, Cloutier said. No injuries were reported other than the initial injuries that the patient sustained.
Cloutier said fire crews called to the hospital were able to identify the chemical substance, but the fire department did not name it.
Valley Medical Center had to briefly modify its operations during the incident, but it has since returned to normal operations, according to Cloutier.
