Do Hospitals Have Backup Generators?
“Do hospitals have backup generators?” is a very common and important question. After all, you’d hate to go to one that didn’t, and you certainly wouldn’t want to bring your loved ones there. Thankfully, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) legally requires all hospitals to have adequate backup generators. Read our blog about hospital generator requirements to learn more about regulations in this industry. For this week’s blog, we’ll show you why hospitals need quality backup generators.
Life Support
First, why do hospitals have backup generators? The most important reason is for those on life support. Typically, the law requires hospital backup generators to fully restore power within ten seconds of the initial outage. Any longer than that can cause serious harm to those on life support, including possibly the loss of life. This is why laws regarding the quality and maintenance for hospital generators tend to be stricter than for other industries.
Equipment
Second, hospitals constantly run high-tech, expensive equipment. From MRIs, X-rays machines, heart monitors, and more, hospitals need these machines to work properly at any and all times. If power goes out in a hospital for any long length of time, then these machines can be damaged. In addition, electronic record-keeping means that medical records and other important documents rely on electricity and internet to be available to doctors and staff. Hospitals have tighter generator laws so that they can keep these vital machines running. Furthermore, as mentioned above, power going out on any of these machines can cost lives.
Occupational Safety
Third, another reason as to why do hospitals have backup generators is for occupational safety. When you visit a hospital, one thing you will notice is that every area is always extremely well lit. You’d be hard-pressed to find one square foot of dimly-lit or dark space anywhere. Why? Safety. Imagine if surgeons, doctors, and emergency staff had to do their work in the dark! One dim room or sudden blackout from a power outage could mean disaster. Therefore, occupational safety is a major reason for why hospitals have backup generators.
EMERGENCY
Fourth, in the event of emergencies such as an accident or a natural disaster, patients may often be rushed to a hospital or an emergency room that is part of a larger hospital or medical facility. In these life saving situations, it is absolutely vital to have power to the facility in order to keep equipment running. In instances where hospitals do not have a backup power supply, patients may need to be transported to the closest hospital that has running power and can be potentially life threatening to patients.
Why do hospitals have backup generators? Learn More at Woodstock Power
If you’d like more information on backup hospital generators, check out this blog about the requirements for hospital backup generators. Or, you can always contact us at Woodstock Power. A member of our friendly and knowledgeable staff would love to help you find everything you need.