A backup emergency generator has been installed at Owensboro Health’s Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center. This generator is the cancer center’s first source of emergency backup power, and officials believe it will be hugely beneficial to Owensboro Health cancer patients.
The backup emergency generator cost Owensboro Health $1.3 million, but Executive Director of Facilities Joe Taylor said the 10 percent premium paid down is nothing compared to the cost of losing power when cancer patients are receiving treatment.
“Our biggest issue was reliability of our systems during storms, when there are utility outages,” he said. “Our linear accelerators [radiation machines] are very delicate and expensive pieces of equipment and are integral in treating tumors in patients. They are all programmed individually for each patient. When the lights go out and a patient is on the table, the procedure has to be stopped and the patient often has to go home and come back.”
Now, however, cancer patients will not have to leave the cancer center during a storm blackout and return at a later date to finish their treatment, Taylor said.
“Two weeks ago, we got to run a test of our new emergency power systems,” he said. “On Saturday night, we left all the equipment up and running and simulated a loss of power. We’re now able to hit the automatic transfer switch and, within five seconds, everything transferred over without a blip.”
The new generator is part of a $12.4 million Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center renovation project that has been ongoing since March. Taylor said the board’s decision to add an emergency generator was made with little debate.
“The cancer center was built in 2005 and hasn’t been renovated since then. Our facility has an amazing reputation for having the best equipment and staff and we continue to get accolades, but the furnishings, floors and other components were outdated,” Taylor said. “Without a backup emergency system, it’s bad PR and bad patient care. That’s not a good fit for who we want to be in this market.”
Very few of the country’s top-notch cancer centers are equipped with backup emergency generators, Taylor said, meaning most cancer patients across the US are blighted with having to reschedule or relocate their cancer treatments during storms and power outages.
Taylor said it was important that Owensboro Health set its cancer patient care apart by providing the best for its patients. This 450 kilowatt backup generator is expected to run solidly for the next 20 years.
“The emergency generator runs on diesel fuel — almost like a diesel fuel engine in a train,” he said. “They like to run. The longer they run, the more efficient they become.”
Renovations at the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center will be completed by March, and a ceremony will be held in April 2020. The emergency backup generator is officially in place, and the cancer center will now be able to get through its first winter with a fully functional backup power system.
