Blackouts: A hot topic in California nursing homes
Rehab Regs, May 28, 2001
The California heat may become a deadly problem for therapists at nursing homes and assisted living centers this summer unless the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) exempts them from the anticipated blackouts. The California Association of Health Facilities has filed a petition with the PUC to exempt nursing homes. However, since assisted living centers are not considered skilled nursing facilities, these are not included in any exemption requests, the Knight Ridder/Tribune News service reported. On the other hand, hospitals are already exempt from the state's power outages. By law, nursing homes are required to have emergency generators capable of powering feeding tubes and emergency buttons. Very few have the capacity to keep even the overhead lights, elevators, and air conditioning functioning during a blackout. The association argues that the fact that a blackout will render the nursing homes incapable of running dialysis machines, oxygen tanks, and ventilators, would make these facilities "essential customers" of electricity, the news service reports.
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