NYU Hospital backup generators have failed

[NYC Liberal]

Power out + backup generators have failed tonight at NYU Hospital, one of NYC's largest. Patients/staff being evacuated. @takeactionnews

https://twitter.com/davidshuster/status/263098501062356992

Absolutely horrible. Please send good thoughts their way.

[MADem]

1. Why did that happen, I wonder? There might be an opening

for someone to run the hospital maintenance department if the failure was due to someone not ensuring that the generators were checked ahead of the storm.

[NYC Liberal]

2. I don't know. Hopefully it was something that wasn't preventable.

How are things in your area?

[MADem]

12. We're doing miraculously well--for a change.

Usually, whenever there is a bad storm, we're the first to lose power and last to get it back. We suffer for a day or two, then say "To hell with this" and leave and go to one of our vacation shacks--fewer amenities, but plenty of heat and light.

We've had some wind, no branches down, power on, TV actually working great (we were having pixilation issues that were not relieved by refreshing the box that the cable company was ignoring for the past week), so we are happy as a bucket of clams. The dogs want to be escorted outside to do their business, so I get to enjoy the breeze (and the rain) every few hours.

[Thekaspervote]

3. Yes, they need our good thoughts a terrible situation!!

This will more than likely end the lives of some of the most vulnerable.. Bless them, and those charged with their care, been there done that.. Triage... such heartbreaking decisions...awful

[liberalmuse]

4. Sh*t.

Kind of hits home.

[jimlup]

5. I wonder if they are in the basement...

That would have been a bad idea but I guess no one imaged this though I would think if you were installing generators you would consider at least "100 year" type events.

[TrogL]

11. Ours are at ground level

Nobody considered a flood of this magnatude

[jimlup]

14. Yeah Ok...

So we don't get floods like this. Time to rethink how we engineer critical stuff I think!

[madokie]

21. I was under the impression that a lot of the multi storied buildings that had generators

that they were on the roof. Not sure why I thought that though. You'd think that a hospital would have them at the ground level as well as some on the roof

[TrogL]

50. The roof wouldn't take the weight

[MADem]

15. The new paradigm in construction is to put them on the roof--it's a good move, I think. nt

[Marmitist]

28. And then when a Cat 4 or 5 hits, goodbye generators...

There is no good answer to preparedness in an era of increasingly intense storms exacerbated by climate change.

[MADem]

32. Not if they're encased in a concrete block house on top of the roof with high walls

around the roof edge. It's pretty much like having them on the top floor, in essence--not exposed to the elements.

Perhaps the best bet is a six of one, half dozen of another approach.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Oh boy! It doesn't get worse than this...

[Tsiyu]

7. he tweets they are manually evacuating PICU and NICU down 9 flights of stairs

Last edited Mon Oct 29, 2012, 11:30 PM - Edit history (1)

wow.

Also pray for those on COney island and for ConEd workers trapped right now.

ON EDIT: ConEd says no workers trapped, a rumor.

We'll wait and see on that one.....

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Brings nightmares from another disaster in another country.

[Iris]

24. Or another state.

[Care Acutely]

18. Oh my god. That's horrendous. Utterly horrible.

[MADem]

19. Good grief--you'd think they could find a way to hook up a portable generator--or a firetruck

operating as a generator--to an elevator. It's not like the building is about to collapse.

[Tsiyu]

36. You've got patients on all sorts of electrical apparatus

breathing machines, IVs, monitors.

A generator or two ain't gonna cut it.

[MADem]

40. A generator is plenty of "goose" to send an elevator up and down.

I'm not talking about leaving the patients there--I'm talking about using a portable generator, or a firetruck operating as a generator, to operate the ELEVATORS to get the people out of there without having to hump them down nine flights of stairs, which is what the report says they were doing.

[Tsiyu]

42. Ah, gotcha

Dunno what the situation is but I just heard they have a ton of ambulances there and that things are going smoothly.

Sorry for misunderstanding

[MADem]

46. Glad that they're getting everyone relocated. I hope there are no health consequences

because of the moves.

Don't worry--no biggie. It's easy to miss the meaning -- I do it myself on occasion.

[Chan790]

41. I assume they meant to get the elevator moving...

so they don't have to carry NICU patents down 9 flights of stairs.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. Memories of Katrina hospital.....ugggghhhh

[Tsiyu]

29. I only had to get one neonate at a time in an isolette

ready for a chopper to transfer. I cannot imagine an entire NICU full of intubations on vents, central lines, umbilical arterial lines....Dayum


but someone just tweeted that they went to offer help and that it's calm at NYU, so that's comforting

[valerief]

8. Shades of Katrina. nt

[myrna minx]

9. Oh no!

[Chorophyll]

10. Sending good vibes like crazy. This is close to home for me.

[nolabear]

16. Oh hell. This is the worst of the worst.

Peoples' lives are genuinely at stake. All my best hopes for quick and good action.

[obamanut2012]

23. You should self delete this

[Care Acutely]

27. REALLY? What about the preemies from NICU, are they

getting what they deserve? People on vents, are they getting what they deserve for "using nukes for power?"

[nolabear]

30. Heartless response. Heartless.

[TwilightGardener]

22. That's a bad situation--bagging vent patients, IV pumps on

battery power--no fun.

[morningfog]

25. Report citing Mayor:

NEW YORK, N.Y. - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says backup power has been lost at New York University hospital and the city is working to move people out.

http://www.660news.com/news/world/article/416818--nyc-mayor-says-power-out-at-nyu-hospital-patients-being-evacuated

[tblue]

26. My gosh! That's awful!

My mom was in the hospital this weekend. Nowhere near there and in a suburb. It's bad enough to be hospitalized but damn, I just hope they get somewhere safe quickly and everybody gets the care they need.

[jackbenimble]

31. Just heard mention of another hospital running out of fuel for generators as well.

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?action=wp&feedId=9358

[Ruby the Liberal]

35. Bellevue. Via FDNY.

Just posted that below.

[Tsiyu]

33. 880AM reporting on it now

Say the evacuation is still underway and lots of folks came to help out, but sounded rather chaotic there

[Ruby the Liberal]

34. FDNY: "Bellevue Hospital is running out of Oxygen & have about 1 HOUR of Power left on Generator"

They are bracing to possibly evac Bellevue as well.

[obamanut2012]

43. Why so soon, I wonder?!

[Ruby the Liberal]

45. They are saying now that they are sending in National Guard

to bring more fuel rather than attempt an evac.

The post-analysis on this is whole thing going to be astonishing.

Edit: @elieseid: Bellevue hospital very low on generator fuel per FDNY radio. Calling in nat'l guard to hand carry fuel for gen to 13th floor

[obamanut2012]

47. I've lived where a generator kept a hospital going for over a day

And, that was a large metro hospital, also after a hurricane. Just surprising.

Hope the NG get the fuel there okay.

[Ruby the Liberal]

48. Thats what I am not getting

How were they not prepared for *2* major hospitals generator needs? Granted, NYU is being called a 'failure', but Bellevue running out of fuel?? This early in the night??

What bean counter approved this disaster recovery plan?

[obamanut2012]

49. Exactly

NYU sounds like a huge failure of some system, but Bellevue sounds like a "fail."

[NYC Liberal]

37. Wow. ABC just showed a preemie being taken from the hospital (pic):

[Tsiyu]

39. Wow

memories for a lot of DUers

Just read they are being moved to Sloan Kettering and Mt. Sinai

[Arugula Latte]

38. This is just terrible. Such a nightmare.

[Poll_Blind]

44. This is five-star Terrible. Shit.

PB