INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Children’s Mercy East reopened to the public a week after a water pipe broke and forced the hospital and its urgent care center to temporarily close.

A hospital employee said the bitter cold over Christmas weekend caused the pipe to rupture, and caused some damage to the building.

While the temporary closure caught some parents seeking care for their sick children off guard, Centerpoint Medical Center’s emergency department is less than two miles away.

The good news is that business is getting back to normal at Children’s Mercy East.

The hospital says both its outpatient clinics and urgent care locations are open Jan. 3 for normal business hours.