Health Sciences Faces Aftermath of Blackout Backup generators were brought in to resume vital functions at Columbia-Presbyterian during the absence of electricity from Con Edison in July. As a precaution, many were retained and positioned near Black and Hammer buildings throughout the summer, which is a peak usage period. Two months after Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center was hit hard by a complete loss of Con Edison electricity, Health Sciences senior administration, faculty, and staff are still hard at work assessing damages and ensuring it will be able to withstand any future blackouts. The blackout that shook Columbia-Presbyterian lasted for parts of four days between Tuesday, July 6, and Friday, July 9. The problems began on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., when the Allen Pavilion began experiencing some power failures, and ended on Friday at 5 p.m., when the last Columbia-Presbyterian facility was fully restored to Con Ed electricity. This span included a 19-hour period when Con Ed lost its entire Washington Heights/Inwood network. It may take some time for the full scope of damage to be realized. To recover for its losses, the University has filed claims under its insurance policy as well as with Con Edison. For now, the University has started to track restoration expenses for losses, including those that resulted from the loss of refrigeration of tissue and cell samples. “Our center does as much, if not more, research than any major research facility in the world,” says Dr. Herbert Pardes, vice president and dean. “We know our research was hurt by the blackout, but we are still assessing the full extent of the damage.” The administration is also enhancing its back-up generator system to ensure that any future blackouts in Northern Manhattan will not be so damaging to Health Sciences. Although the University’s five permanent generators and several additional emergency generators helped continue vital services, most administrative offices were forced to shut down. The majority of employees were sent home or notified not to come to work on Wednesday of that week and given similar instructions on Thursday. When these staffers returned on Friday, the center had not yet received full Con Ed power and was still running on generators. As a result, systems were still down in some areas, including elevators, air conditioning, and computers. Five temporary generators have been positioned on the campus with an assurance of their immediate connection by Con Ed in the event of an emergency. Four generators were positioned adjacent to the Black Building and a fifth next to the Hammer Building to augment the center’s permanent generator system during peak usage time, which takes place during the summer months. These backups will provide near normal power to Black, P&S, and Hammer buildings in the event of another blackout and also will provide emergency power to University research labs in Vanderbilt and PH stem. The University’s long-term plan includes the installation of a permanent generator for Black (planned since last November). The Black installation is expected to be completed by the end of September. The University also is evaluating the need for additional emergency power or other measures in its other buildings to ensure that it has adequate backup capability in the event of future problems. |R