Bennington dialysis patients helped elsewhere after Irene

BENNINGTON, Vt. -- The hospital in Bennington is sending its kidney dialysis patients elsewhere as the southern Vermont town deals with a water shortage in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.

The Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's Kevin Robinson says that's one of the steps the institution is taking to reduce its water use at the town's request.

Flooding in Woodford stemming from the heavy rains on Sunday led to the water main break.

Robinson says dialysis uses a lot of water, and so dialysis patients who had been using the Bennington hospital have been sent to hospitals in Rutland and to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.