GALVESTON, Texas -- Shriner's Hospital for Children reopened Wednesday after being closed for more than a year because of damage from Hurricane Ike, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Walking into the revamped and repaired hospital, nurse Felix Covarrubias couldn't help but be touched.

"It's emotional. It's very exciting," Covarrubias said.

Hurricane Ike pushed two and a half feet of water into the hospital, requiring the first floor to be gutted and redone.

The decision to reopen the center for burn victims was made back in July, and workers have been busy working on the transition.

"This is great to be back," Covarrubias said. "This is the culmination of many, many hours of work."

The hospital's director of patient care services put off retirement to see the hospital come back to life. She said certain units will begin to come back online Wednesday, beginning with the outpatient clinic.

"We're coming back with about two-thirds the staff," Janet Marvin said. "We hope to continue to offer almost all the services."

Most of the hospital's 195 employees, including nurse Leticia Murphy, worked at the hospital before Ike closed it down. Wednesday marked a major victory for them.

"Coming back home," Murphy said. "It's been a long trip, but we're back home."

"It's a demonstration of effort, and to be able to see all this back again to the way it was and better ... smaller group but with bigger hearts," Covarrubias said.

The hospital will start serving reconstruction patients and outpatients on Wednesday. The intensive care unit is expected to open mid-December.