Several Northern Light Health hospitals lost EHR and email access Oct. 17 after a nor'easter storm caused power outages across Maine, Bangor Daily News reports.
Staff at the Brewer, Maine-based health system resumed operations during the cyclone by switching to paper records. Northern Light Health worked to restore its email system and other programs throughout the morning of Oct. 17.
The health system regularly performs exercises to prepare for operating offline, a Northern Light Health spokesperson told Bangor Daily News. Regarding the power outage, the spokesperson added, "We're confident that our high-quality care is continuing uninterrupted."
Northern Light Health comprises nine hospitals and more than 100 healthcare facilities across Maine.
Emera Maine and Central Maine Power, electrical service companies in the state, collectively reported more than 190,000 power outages across their service areas as of 3 p.m., Oct. 17. Emera Maine posted an update on its website Oct. 18 that power had been restored to 27,000 customers, and the company would work into the weekend to repair the remaining outages. CMP told several customers to prepare for the possibility of multi-day outages, according to the report.