State regulations require hospitals to test their generators “under load” on a monthly basis, meaning during normal business hours while all equipment is running.
During a recent test, one of six switch gears did not turn on, leaving part of the radiology department and nuclear medicine department without power. A few days later the city power went out and a different switch gear did not turn on, leaving the entire basement of the hospital without power.
Fearing that this was not unique or a fluke, we called a company out of Kansas City to come and assess and hopefully fix the problems. The Administrative staff was assembled to discuss back-up plans, as the company informed us they would be here that evening and we would need to plan on all portions of the hospital to be without power an hour at a time throughout the night.
This may not sound emergent to most people, but in a hospital setting the following scenarios have to be thought about: how will we keep the blood in the laboratory refrigerator cold; how will we keep the drugs in the pharmacy refrigerator cold; is there a way to provide continuous power to our computer server so the nursing floors and emergency department can continue to electronically document the patient’s medical record; who will distribute radios throughout the facility when the switchboard loses power; what is our backup plan if an emergency patient comes in requiring a CT scan or is in need of a ventilator; what do we do if an emergency surgery needs to be done.
For over 5 hours that night we had outside electricians, hospital maintenance and Information Systems staff here. About 2:30 a.m. the company engineers had completed all testing with only one switch gear determined to be un-repairable. A company representative was unsure if he would be able to find a replacement, as this system is over 30 years old. Fortunately he was successful, but the cost to replace this one switch gear is $11,000. In the past four months, the County Hospital Board has spent in excess of $80,000 on facility repairs. That does not include the $11,000.
Another major problem we have due to the age of our facility is the heating and air system. Because our system utilizes 100 percent outside air to cool our operating rooms, when the humidity outside is high, condensation forms in the ceilings of the operating rooms. When this happens, we have to shut down the operating room and cancel or reschedule surgeries as an infection control precaution.
