Contract hospital workers suspended following hot water burns to resident

KINGWOOD, W.Va. An investigation is underway in Kingwood after one hospital patient was scolded by very hot water.

Detectives from the Preston County Sheriff’s Office said a water tank thermostat at Hopemont Hospital in Terra Alta malfunctioned on Thursday, causing water temperatures in one residential unit to be “unsafe.”

The West Virginia Department of Health Facilities (DHF), previously part of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), and the Preston County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.

Two contract workers have been placed on leave.

The facilities in the room are not being used until the problem is solved.