Maintaining electric power during a disaster

JCAHO recently issued a Sentinel Event Alert that recommends specific steps healthcare organizations can take to maintain electrical power supply during a natural disaster.

According to the Alert, compliance with minimum National Fire Protection Association codes is not enough to assure the safety of patients and their care during an emergency situation. Many health care organizations did not have sufficient power to ventilate facilities in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and patient evacuations were delayed because of the unavailability of electricity-dependent elevators to transport patients.

To reduce risks to patients created by power failures, JCAHO’s Alert recommends steps that health care organizations take:

· Match the critical equipment and systems needed in an extended emergency against the equipment and systems actually on the emergency power system.
· Inventory emergency power systems and the loads they serve.
· Provide training for and test those who operate and maintain the emergency power supply system.
· Ensure that generator fuel is available and usable.
· Assure that the organization management and clinical leaders know how long emergency power will be available and what locations within the facility will and will not have emergency power in the event of an electrical outage.
· Establish contingency plans for doctors and other caregivers to follow during losses of electrical power.

In addition to the Alert, the Joint Commission is adding a new requirement in 2007 that organizations test emergency generators at least once every 36 months for a minimum of four continuous hours. Facilities already must test their generators 12 times a year for 30 minutes. If a test fails, the organization must immediately implement stop-gap measures until a permanent fix can be put into place.