Backup generators failed at NYU Langone Medical Center last night, forcing all 215 patients to be evacuated to local hospitals during the violent winds of Hurricane Sandy. Hospital spokeswoman Lorinda Klein said that the main communication systems, including phones and email were down. However, she was unable to explain what caused the hospital's emergency systems to fail. Klein added that receiving hospitals would notify families of the arrivals of their relatives.
Around 11 p.m. last night, dozens of ambulances were lined up outside of the hospital. Mount Sinai Medical Center described team efforts to evacuate patients "in the areas of adult critical care, pediatric critical care, neonatal intensive care and obstetrics." In a statement, Mount Sinai also said that NYU Langone staff and physicians were also being transported.
Problems began when hospital officials began to explain in emails the spread of power failures in important areas, including the ER, transplant unit and labor and delivery. This forced the hospital to connect some patients to battery-operated monitors or pumps.
[via The NY Times]
