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Power restored to DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk

Posted at 6:11 AM, Jun 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-06-16 17:28:21-04

Norfolk, Va. - The power at Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center is finally working properly again. The hospital had been running on emergency generators after losing power Monday night.

The outage began when a transformer in a vault under the hospital failed around 9 p.m., according to Dominion Virginia Power.

Dominion reported at the transformer was working properly and providing power to the hospital as of 3:25 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

The outage affected the chiller plant that operates the hospital's air conditioning. The hospital was operating under an emergency preparedness plan, with only some parts of the facility on backup power and air conditioning.

Hospital officials say four patients at DePaul were transferred to hospitals in Portsmouth.

Joe Shine says his girlfriend is a patient at DePaul Medical Center—and the phone call he got from her this morning is one that he did not expect.

"She said she was burning up and please bring her some shorts."

So he did just that – picked her up some bright pink jogging shorts.

For Gail Gragg, getting some blood work done was nothing like she’s ever experienced.

"Oh my gosh, it was stifling, you can feel the heat and it's hard to breathe when it's that hot."

Bon Secours tells NewsChannel 3 its primary focus is to ensure that all Bon Secours DePaul patients are receiving proper medical care and are as comfortable as possible during the outage. The health system’s team of clinical leaders and medical staff has been working to quickly determine the best location for each patient’s care, according to medical center officials.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this power outage has caused our patients and their families. We continue to work very hard to ensure the well-being and comfort of all of our patients,” said Lynne Zultanky, spokesperson for Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System.

Due to the power outage, Tuesday’s outpatient surgical cases and outpatient imaging studies are being rescheduled.