UPDATE August 23, 2023: The power was restored Tuesday afternoon.
Los Angeles, California – More than 200 patients, including some in critical care at Adventist Health White Memorial’s Specialty Care Center in Boyle Heights were evacuated early Tuesday morning after part of the campus lost power.
Most of the patients were transferred to the South Tower on White Memorial’s campus, which didn’t lose power. Another 28 patients who were in critical condition – some on ventilators – were taken to other facilities or hospitals in the area, reports the Los Angeles Times and NBC News. The tower that had the power outage houses a neonatal intensive care unit, obstetrics, gynecology, and rehabilitation departments.
During the blackout, White Memorial staff and doctors had to use flashlights to be able to see when they delivered a baby. After the delivery, both the mother and her infant were taken to another hospital.
The blackout happened around 11:45 p.m. on Monday and only hit the Specialty Care Center. It affected a total of 241 patients.
The cause of the power outage is under investigation. The partial blackout happened only hours after Tropical Storm Hillary came through the area, dumping record amounts of rain in Los Angeles.
The main power to the hospital went out on Monday around 3 a.m. at the height of the storm, reports NBC News. White Memorial’s backup generators immediately turned on but failed around 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
