POUGHKEEPSIE – Electrical issues caused a blackout at the 264-unit, 800,000-square-foot Patient Pavilion at Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) on Thursday afternoon. The electrical issues continued until late Thursday night, causing the transfer of critical patients to other hospitals.
More than 10 patients who were on ventilators were transferred to MidHudson Regional Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, Kingston Hospital, Putnam Hospital, and two facilities in Connecticut by ambulance, except for one patient who was airlifted out of VBMC.
When the power initially was disrupted, the hospital’s incident command system was activated to manage the situation, according to VBMC Spokesman John Nelson. When the power went out at 1:30 pm, the pavilion was switched over to generator power until that system failed Thursday evening, putting the new hospital in darkness around 8:00 pm. The Poughkeepsie Fire Department responded and a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) was declared, bringing Advanced Life Support ambulances from several agencies to VBMC to transfer the critical patients out.
“In an abundance of caution and with patient safety as our top priority, we transferred our most critical patients to neighboring hospitals to ensure their continued care,” Nelson said.
Several components of the facility’s electrical system were replaced on Thursday night and power was restored around 11:00 pm. As a result of the unstable generator issue, first responders stayed on scene with hospital staff until it was certain that necessary repairs had stabilized the power delivery.
“We are deeply grateful for the swift support from our local agencies, including Dutchess County, the City of Poughkeepsie, and local EMS services,” Nelson said. “We also appreciate the cooperation of neighboring hospitals that provided critical care beds for our patients during the emergency.”
The hospital had been diverting patients to other hospitals, except those destined for the Labor and Delivery department, to other facilities during the emergency. The diversion was discontinued around midnight on Thursday.
