WINFIELD — William Newton Hospital officials on Thursday provided additional details about a brief lockdown earlier this week, saying the incident stemmed from a threat made to an out-of-state casino that investigators initially believed might be linked to the hospital’s phone system.
Hospital spokesperson Sarah Johnson said the original safety concern involved a threatening call made to the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. Authorities determined the call came from a phone number similar to the hospital’s main number block, which begins with 620-222.
Investigators worked to determine where the call originated, prompting hospital administrators to work with Winfield Police Chief Robbie DeLong and the Winfield Police Department to verify whether the call was connected to the hospital.
“Out of an abundance of concern for the safety of our facility and our patients, we initiated a lockdown while that information was being verified,” Johnson said. Continue below.
The lockdown lasted about 15 minutes Tuesday afternoon. Officials later confirmed the call did not originate from William Newton Hospital and that none of the hospital’s phone numbers were involved.
Johnson emphasized that no threats were ever made against the hospital, nor were any threats made from the hospital.
Hospital officials said patient and staff safety remains their top priority and thanked the public for its understanding during the incident