Outage Stresses ASH Staff, Patients

By Sarah Arnquist, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Jun. 19–Atascadero State Hospital officials are taking steps to restore the facility to full operations after a major power outage over the weekend.

But semi-dark hallways and a back-up security system using whistles and telephones have at least one key staff member concerned about employees’ safety.

The hospital remained in lock-down Monday, meaning all 965 mentally ill and sexually violent predator patients were being kept inside in their sleeping and living units. On Monday, most of the hospital had partial power.

There was no air conditioning in 32 of the 38 patient units, though, and no lights in the units except for emergency lighting in the nurse’s station and medication rooms.

Generators powered about one-third of the fluorescent lights in the main hallway, where staff travels between patient units.

Red alarm lights that alert employees to an emergency were dark, and electronic transmitters that staff wear to signal an emergency were not working.

Hospital staff is using two-way radios, telephones and whistles to communicate.

Extra staff has been placed on the patient units, and all doors in the facility remain locked, through generator power or manual locks and keys, spokeswoman Donna Nelson said.

“We have a back-up (security) system fully functioning and in place,” she said.

Nelson wouldn’t describe that system in detail, she said, to protect staff and patients.

Total damage is still unknown. It could be three weeks before repairs are done, according to contractors who assessed the damage.

‘Pitch black’

The outage began about 7 a.m. Friday after a water pipe burst in the hospital basement. At least one transformer was ruined, in addition to wiring and circuits, Nelson said.

The hospital has lost power in the past but never of this magnitude, she said.

Hospital pharmacist David Watson was working when the power failed. “It was pitch black,” he said.

The emergency lights and alarm systems both failed. Backup battery-operated lights came on, but only in some parts of the hospital, he said.

Pharmacy computers that track patients’ medication prescriptions went black.

Recognizing that getting patients the right medications was critical to maintaining calm, hospital officials prioritized powering the pharmacy, Watson said. It was fully operational Monday.

But elevators to the pharmacy weren’t working, he said, and the stairways were completely dark, making many staff members nervous.

“They’re scared,” Watson said. “You’d be scared, too, if it was dark and you were outnumbered 20 to 1.”

One patient had assaulted a staff member since Friday, but there were no major injuries, Nelson said. Overall, the number of incidents was lower than when the hospital isn’t on lock-down, she said, adding that patients and staff are working together extremely well.

Addressing the problem

The hospital runs on its own power supply dating to 1959. The system has been updated over the years, but much of it is original, Nelson said.

In addition to bringing in independent contractors, the hospital obtained a backup generator Monday to restore kitchen power.

Patients ate cheese and crackers for lunch Sunday but had a hot meal Monday.

Another generator was coming Monday from Las Vegas that officials hope will restore air conditioning throughout the facility.

Maintenance workers were also removing panels from the iron-barred windows to allow in fresh air.

“We’re working a lot of hours to make this as easy as possible,”maintenance worker Brian Wolf said.

The psychotropic medications that many patients take are sensitive to heat, Nelson said.

So if temperatures inside the hospital reach 100 degrees, patients will be moved into two newer areas of the hospital that have air conditioning. Heat-sensitive patients have already been moved to those units.

Temperatures inside the units were tolerable Monday, said psychiatric technician Howard Orozco, who was keeping the door leading to the main hall open to allow air flow.

Hospital officials hope outside temperatures stay out of the triple digits and the backup generators restore as much power as possible.

Forecasters put high temperatures in the 80s and 90s this week in North County.

Studying the incident

Watson said the hospital has not had such a serious power failure in his 13 years there.

“My big question is: Are they going to learn from this and fix what failed?” he asked.

Nelson said the hospital does have an emergency disaster plan. She said officials were not yet ready to talk Monday about what can be done better next time. They will study the issue, and she said she would address it with local media in coming days.

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