Dialysis center explains protocol in case of power outage

A short-term power outage that left several medical facilities in the El Portal Plaza in north Merced without electricity last month raised some questions from patients about the lack of backup power sources for offices that provide specialty care services.

In hospitals, when the power goes out, backup generators kick in, but smaller medical facilities are not required to have an alternate power source.

El Portal Plaza is home to clinics, dental offices and a dialysis center – all of which lost power for about an hour on March 2.

Merced resident Henry Ortiz, 72, had a dialysis appointment that Monday at the DaVita Dialysis Center on G Street and remembers being one of more than 20 patients hooked to dialysis machines.

Kidney dialysis is a blood-cleansing procedure used to treat damaged or failed kidneys. Those undergoing treatment visit the center about three times a week for the procedure that lasts between three and four hours.

When the power goes out, the dialysis machines stop. Ortiz said patients were instructed to use the machine’s manual hand crank to return the blood left in the tubing back to the body. “But for many of us that was difficult to do,” Ortiz said. “Nurses and office staff were scrambling to assist us.”

Tom Bradsell, manager of the DaVita emergency response team, said responses depend on each situation. Protocol calls for staff to contact the local electric company and check how long the outage is expected to last.

For short-term blackouts, the dialysis provider will most likely extend hours to accommodate for all patients to complete their treatment, Bradsell explained.

When power outages are expected to last a couple of hours, patients are rescheduled. Those who need urgent treatment can be transported to other nearby dialysis centers. Besides the one in north Merced, there is another DaVita dialysis office in Atwater.

If needed, Bradsell explained, DaVita can arrange with competitors’ facilities to send patients for treatment. The kidney care company also has generators strategically placed around the country for large-scale emergencies such as earthquakes and tornadoes.

Bradsell explained that patients are educated on how to respond to emergency evacuations and these type of situations. “We work with the patients on a quarterly basis so that they are aware of the facility’s plans,” he said.

During the early March power outage, Ortiz was rescheduled for the following day. But a backup generator, he believes, would have saved patients and staff a lot of time and trouble.

“I think it would be a good idea to install a backup generator, not just (at the dialysis center), but for that whole building,” Ortiz said. “There are several medical offices there that could benefit.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Dialysis center explains protocol in case of power outage."