California Healthcare Association Media Statement - California Hospitals Urge PUC to Exempt All Hospitals from Rotating Blackouts.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--April 3, 2001

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The following is a statement issued by C. Duane Dauner, President, California Healthcare Association:

The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today is scheduled to discuss an issue of critical importance to all Californians -- the exemption of all hospitals throughout the state from further rotating power outages stemming from the energy crisis. More than a dozen hospitals in northern and southern California -- ranging in size from 40 beds to 750 beds -- were recently subjected to blackouts when the state's Independent System Operator (ISO) issued a Stage 3 Alert on March 19 and 20.

Since 1980, the PUC has had an order in effect exempting hospitals with 100 or more beds from rotating outages (D.91548 - April 15, 1980, 3 CPUC2d 510.). On March 23, 2001, the PUC reaffirmed this order, following an emergency hearing held after the blackouts on March 19 and 20.

However, the PUC's order of March 23 left open the question of whether hospitals under 100 beds should also be exempted from future power outages. This issue is scheduled to be debated by the PUC today.

The California Healthcare Association (CHA) strongly urges the PUC to immediately exempt all hospitals -- regardless of bed size -- from future rotating power outages. The number of beds that a hospital is licensed to operate is irrelevant to the basic life-and-death patient care services provided by that facility. Hospitals under 100 beds provide most of the same patient care services -- including emergency care, C-sections, appendectomies, etc. -- that larger hospitals offer. And, hospitals with fewer than 100 beds are often located in smaller, rural communities -- and thus are the only source of essential health care services within many miles.

Rotating power outages imposed on hospitals of any size put people's lives at risk. Patients undergoing surgery, being treated in the emergency room or delivering a baby should not have their lives put in danger because of the state's energy crisis.