LAC LA BICHE - Late last Tuesday afternoon, local and provincial health officials were saying that service was returning to normal at Lac La Biche's W. J Cadzow Hospital after an overnight power outage shut down the emergency ward and reduced other areas of the facility to generator power.
While there were still some areas operating with restricted power, the facility maintained service to in-care patients and re-scheduled out-patient services.
"There was a mechanical issue with the backup generator, and the site is using portable generators," Shelly Willsey, the AHS North Zone spokesperson told the Lac La Biche POST on Tuesday afternoon." Procedures and protocols are in place to cope with situations such as power disruptions."
Municipal aid
Lac La Biche County Regional Fire Chief John Kokotilo said municipal crews were called to the hospital on 93 Avenue at approximately 7pm Monday after the main electrical transformer supplying power to the hospital exploded. The transformer is located outside the building's west-wing. Emergency generators kicked in — but malfunctioned at about 11 pm. Some power was restored shortly after, utilizing power sources from the fire department equipment and other municipal resources.
Kokotilo said more than a dozen, firefighters and peace officers remained at the scene into the early morning.
"Fire crews and peace officers provided security and also aided in restoring emergency power to critical infrastructure within the hospital, like the labs for blood-work or other areas that required refrigeration. The emergency ward as well."
Crews from Fortis, hospital maintenance, healthcare staff and others throughout the community are also being highlighted for their efforts as the story unfolds in social media posts.
No injuries, no evacuation
There was no need to evacuate patients in the hospital, said Kokotilo, explaining that municipal crews were at the scene to assist with any AHS requests.
"We responded as per their request and provided resources as required in the protection of life and property," he said. "There was no immediate threat to patients and staff."
AHS officials say patient care continues to be a priority, and was during the outage.
"All long-term care residents and acute care patients remain at the William J. Cadzow - Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre Care and continue to receive care, said Willsey.
When asked about the infrastructure relating to electrical service in place at the hospital, Willsey sad that would likely be part of a debrief of the incident once all repairs are made.
"Once power is restored, AHS will review the facility’s power distribution system and determine if any additional repairs are needed," she said.
