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Hospital's Phone Service Goes Out, Leaving Patient's Family In Fear

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Regina Anderson Franklin's mother is at Roseland Community Hospital, and no visitors are allowed due to COVID-19. When the phone system went out and she couldn't get updates on her mother's health, the desperate daughter turned to CBS 2.

Regina and her sister Yvette Anderson Carter Brooks say they heard the same recording over and over when every line for the hospital was not working for more than 24 hours.

"How would you feel if this was your mother, and you had no way to contact a no tcognitive person?" Yvette said.

"Right now I'm really worried because I can't get an update on her," Regina said.

Their mother Yvonne Reaves Anderson checked into the hospital Wednesday to receive treatment following a series of strokes.

"Right now we can't even advocate for her because we can't go up there, and we can't communicate," Yvette said.

The hospital's CEO said a car crash knocked out service to the hospital's phone and internet servers provided by a company called WOW!.

"If they have phone issues or whatever they should have a backup system to contact the families of the patients," Regina said.

Roseland Community Hospital went into what is called a code green. With the main phone lines down, calls are supposed to transfer automatically to back-up cell phones, but the plan didn't work. The calls never forwarded according to the CEO.

In a time families are unable to visit the hospital due to COVID-19 concerns, a phone system off the hook left this family desperate for a signal that their ailing mother is ok.

"If we were in any other neighborhood a whole phone system for a hospital would not have gone down like that," Regina said.

In all, phone and internet service was down more than 24 hours. It has since been restored.

Roseland Community Hospital's CEO said they plan to end their current deal with WOW! and use a different provider moving forward.

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