Electrical issues force Calif. hospital to divert maternity deliveries

After an outdoor electric transformer short-circuited, hospital officials at Palomar Health Downtown Campus in Escondido, Calif., were forced to divert all new maternity deliveries to the system's Pomerado Hospital in Poway, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The electrical issue reportedly forced the Escondido hospital's maternity ward and other departments to rely on backup power. The outage also led to the temporary postponement of elective surgeries.

"The incident was very brief, and there was no fire, nor any threat to patient safety," Palomar Health said in a statement, according to the Union-Tribune.

While power has been restored at the downtown facility, the need for further repairs has forced Palomar to continue to divert expectant mothers to Pomerado Hospital, 13 miles away. Pregnant women with Kaiser Permanente insurance will be referred to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center San Diego until the repairs are complete.

The hospital, which is mostly vacant, is amid a long-term closing process as the Palomar system opened a replacement hospital — Palomar Medical Center — in west Escondido in 2012. The maternity ward at the new Escondido hospital is not yet open.

According to the Union-Tribune, Frank Beirne, Palomar Health's executive vice president of operations, said, "All work is complete on the new birth center at Palomar Medical Center and we have all permits in hand. The next step is getting our final license to open the unit from the California Department of Public Health. When that occurs, we will be able to open the unit."

More articles on patient flow: 
Nemours Children's Health System partners with RoundTrip 
MD Anderson strives to meet goal of 12-minute wait for valet parking 
How OSU Wexner Medical Center harnessed data analytics to enhance patient flow

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars