Aug 18, 2006 9:20 pm US/Eastern
Hospital Shut Down For Several Hours Friday
Ambulances Diverted To Other Centers
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) ―
A Poughkeepsie hospital was shutdown for several hours Friday after officials found an envelope containing white powder and a bomb threat.
An employee at Vassar Brothers Medical Center opened an envelope around noon that contained a white powder and note that included a bomb threat, said hospital Chief Operating Officer Janet Ready.
Four employees were taken to the hospital's emergency department for decontamination. The City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Unit decontaminated the office where the envelope was opened.
Poughkeepsie police and hospital officials declined to release the contents of the letter.
"There's nobody that's taken responsibility for it," Poughkeepsie Police Chief Ronald Knapp said.
The hospital turned away new patients and closed its doors for about four hours. Ambulances were diverted to other hospitals.
The substance in the envelope was submitted for testing, Knapp said. "All I can say is it was a white powder," he said.
Police were investigating whether the incident was related to the discovery of an envelope with white powder found Friday at the Times Herald-Record newspaper in Middletown.
The envelope in that case contained powdered bleach and no note, officials said. Employees at the paper returned to work after test results came back.
A spokeswoman for Vassar Brothers Medical Center said no one was hurt in the incident and no patients were evacuated.
The hospital resumed normal operations by 5:30 p.m.
The incident remains under investigation.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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