Roughly 800,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in Northern California had their electricity shut off Oct. 9 as part of a planned power outage by the state's largest utility, according to CNN.
PG&E shut off power to customers to avoid sparking a wildfire during forecasted high winds. The company started restoring power to some areas on the morning of Oct. 10, but several hospitals are among the 600,000 customers still without power because of the shutdown.
At least four of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente's hospitals were affected by the outage. Those facilities are running on generators, Kaiser Chairman and CEO Bernard Tyson told Yahoo Finance on Oct. 10. The health system is reaching out to patients who need to reschedule outpatient services, according to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco-based Dignity Health said its hospitals would run on generators if power is shut off. One of its hospitals, St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff, is using generator power to keep its emergency room open, according to KRCR. The hospital will stay open during the duration of the outage.
Walnut Creek, Calif.-based John Muir Health is moving medications that need refrigeration from clinics affected by the power outage to clinics where power will be maintained, according the San Francisco Chronicle. The health system's clinics in Orinda, Lafayette and San Ramon, Calif., were closed Oct. 10 and will remain closed Oct. 11.
Irvine, Calif.-based St. Joseph Health closed two of its urgent care clinics that lost power, but its hospitals are not expected to lose power.
Several of Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health's hospitals may be affected. The health system told the San Francisco Chronicle that patients should contact their medical team directly with any questions.
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