By Jim Mimiaga

Rest assured. Southwest Memorial Hospital and the Vista Grande Nursing Home are prepared to compensate 100 percent for any power outages resulting from potential problems associated with the Year 2000 debacle, reported utility plant manager Chris Rubino.

Hospital management has brought in a massive diesel generator that is capable of powering two-thirds of the hospital with enough fuel for two weeks or more.

The other third is covered by an in-house emergency generator that will automatically fire up and operate essential life-support systems in the event of a Empire Electric power outage. The well-maintained system is specifically designed to ensure that all life-support systems — such as oxygen pumps, heart monitors, respirators, surgical equipment, boilers, etc. — continue to operate without a hitch. Basic lighting and heating systems are also covered by the in-house generator.

The seamless transition is guaranteed because of special cadmium batteries that are always hooked up to essential medical equipment and computers. The constantly charging batteries are capable of providing full power to these critical systems during the nine-second delay it takes to power up the generator, Rubino said.

"We have been planning this for more than a year," he said. "At this time of the year we do not typically have a heavy load, so I’m sure we will be covered. We are required to conduct practice runs every month on our emergency systems."

The 664-kilowatt, turbo-powered back-up generator is housed in a semi-truck trailer and was rented until March by Southwest Health System for $13,000. Rubino said that the hospital has 500 gallons of gasoline and 2,100 gallons of reserve diesel fuel that will be stationed so that it can be pumped directly into the generators as needed.

The hospital campus is also a priority for Fraley and Co. Inc. if more fuel is needed.

In the event of a power outage, the rented generator would need to be wired directly into the system before power could be restored to non-essential systems. That process would take no more than an hour, Rubino said, adding that wiring it in advance while the power is on presents a serious electrocution danger for workers.

Date-sensitive medical equipment at Southwest, which could have crashed because of computer chips incapable of reading the year 2000, has all been replaced or upgraded by manufacturers and is Y2K-compliant, hospital officials said. Phone systems, computers, fire suppression and alarms, security, ventilation, lighting, and sterilization systems are also all Y2K-compliant, officials said.

Since last January, hospital staff have been taking inventory of all equipment and working with manufacturers to insure Y2K compliance. In some cases machines with date-sensitive computer chips have been programmed ahead, while others have been replaced or upgraded, said Christina Howard, bio-medical equipment specialist for Southwest.