Vandals cut off Oakdale hospital district communication to outside

OAKDALE -- Vandalism of two AT&T junction boxes has cut off outside communication by Oak Valley Hospital, Oak Valley Care Center, Oak Valley Community Health Center and surrounding physician offices. Disrupted services include phone, fax and Internet.

“They’re out there right now working on getting our data lines up and running,” Joann Saporito, vice president of nursing, said of AT&T. “It was pretty good vandalism that occurred out there. AT&T says it won’t leave until it’s all repaired. This has only affected out communication with the outside world — internally, there’s no disruption in service.”

Cell phones are the only way Oak Valley employees have to talk with those outside their facilities, she said.

“We continue to be committed to the community we serve and the quality of care we provide,” Oak Valley Hospital District said in a news release this afternoon. “During the interruption of our telephone and Internet services, those wishing to contact the hospital may call (209) 602-2578 and their call will be directed to the appropriate service area.”

There is no estimate on when services will be restored.