{"id":17726,"date":"2020-02-13T18:50:56","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T02:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2020\/02\/13\/news-11461\/"},"modified":"2020-02-13T18:50:56","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T02:50:56","slug":"news-11461","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2020\/02\/13\/news-11461\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Highlights Need for Healthcare Facilities to Have Power Protection Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Credit to Author: Hans Luppens| Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 14:51:00 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As fresh reports pour in each day about the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, it should serve as a reminder to hospitals and other healthcare facilities just how important they are to the health and well-being of their communities \u2013 and why they need to ensure they have proper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.se.com\/ww\/en\/work\/campaign\/industrial-business-continuity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">power protection systems<\/a> to keep critical systems up and running.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-64147\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Bio-lab-research-49428994_small-300x200.png\" alt=\"healthcare power protection systems\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Bio-lab-research-49428994_small-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Bio-lab-research-49428994_small.png 764w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/> <\/p>\n<h2>A global pandemic<\/h2>\n<p>The response to the coronavirus indicates just how seriously governments and private businesses around the globe are taking it. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/asia\/live-news\/coronavirus-outbreak-02-10-20-intl-hnk\/h_7c65c0bf8330fe9e1ebff36fb737e592\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CNN reports<\/a>, as of Feb. 11:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Over 1,000 people are dead and more than 40,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide.<\/li>\n<li>Nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/02\/11\/economy\/china-coronavirus-returning-to-work-economy\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">160 million<\/a> people in China are expected to return to work this week, sparking new concerns about the spread of the virus.<\/li>\n<li>The coronavirus is now deadlier than SARS, which resulted in the deaths of 774 victims worldwide from November 2002 to July 2003.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/31\/world\/asia\/coronavirus-china.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>The New York Times <\/em>reports<\/a> Russia has closed its 2,600-mile border with China to pedestrians and cars while Delta Air Lines announced it plans to suspend all flights from the United States to China from Feb. 6 to April 30.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most ominously, last month the World Health Organization <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/02\/11\/watch-world-health-organization-provides-an-update-on-the-coronavirus-outbreak.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">declared<\/a>\u00a0the coronavirus outbreak a \u201cpublic health emergency of international concern,\u201d which it defines as an \u201cextraordinary event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, and which are ill-prepared to deal with it,\u201d said WHO Director-General <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2020\/01\/30\/health\/coronavirus-who-public-health-emergency-international-concern-declaration\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>No immunity from power issues<\/h2>\n<p>The ability to deal with it is certainly a legitimate concern. With respect to reliable access to power alone, some countries are far better off than others. Not so long ago, China was among those with power issues. While the country has been investing heavily in shoring up its grid and infusing it with renewable power in recent years, it is not quite out of the woods yet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina has built a massive amount of solar capacity over the past decade, pushing PV [photovoltaic] installations from around 415 MW in 2009 to an astonishing 175 GW last year,\u201d according to a story in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pv-magazine.com\/2019\/06\/18\/chinas-grid-planners-could-learn-from-european-experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>PV Magazine,<\/em><\/a> which covers the solar industry. \u201cHowever, the government is still struggling to improve interconnections between China\u2019s far-flung provinces and six regional power grids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/go.schneider-electric.com\/WW_201903_A-Practical-Guide-to-Ensuring-Business-Continuity-and-High-Performance-in-Healthcare-A00811_EA-LP-EN.html?source=Content&amp;sDetail=SEDCBlog.com_WW&amp;keycode=A00811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-37037 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Gartner_Blog_Ad_620x350_Patient_Satisfaction-Ver-2.png\" alt=\"healthcare eguide\" width=\"620\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Gartner_Blog_Ad_620x350_Patient_Satisfaction-Ver-2.png 620w, https:\/\/blog.se.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Gartner_Blog_Ad_620x350_Patient_Satisfaction-Ver-2-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2>How to protect against power disruptions<\/h2>\n<p>As we all know, even areas with highly reliable grids are not immune from occasional power interruptions or even brief anomalies such as surges that can wreak havoc with sensitive medical equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Protecting against power issues is why it\u2019s so important for hospitals and other healthcare providers that are \u2013 or may be \u2013 on the front lines against the coronavirus to ensure their defenses are in order. That includes laboratories that are feverishly working on finding a vaccine for the virus and looking for clues on how to stanch its spread. Any power interruption could mean the loss of valuable data, potentially setting their work back. Sites acting as holding facilities for those under quarantine due to the virus should also be mindful of power protection, such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/01\/31\/health\/quarantine-coronavirus.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">air reserve based in California<\/a> that held 195 people in early February.<\/p>\n<p>Among the questions to consider is whether you have sufficient backup power to keep critical systems running in the event of an outage. Typically, this amounts to generators as well as uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, which keep critical systems \u2013 from computers to MRI machines \u2013 up and running in the time it takes the generators to fire up.<\/p>\n<p>But it also requires a careful examination of how much power is \u201csufficient.\u201d This was an issue California healthcare facilities came face to face with last year when they were subject to planned blackouts intended to help prevent wildfires. As this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/10\/28\/20932780\/california-blackout-healthcare-electricity-fires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">story at The Verge<\/a> details, the situation led to decisions such as, \u201cDo you keep your refrigerator full of vaccines running, or do you keep the community\u2019s electronic health care records online?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Healthcare facilities also need to periodically test their backup power systems to ensure they\u2019re functioning correctly. In fact, in the United States and European Union, it\u2019s the law that emergency power supply systems be tested monthly, as detailed in <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality\/2017\/10\/04\/business-continuity-healthcare-facilities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this previous post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As that same post details, conducting periodic power assessments is likewise a good idea, to determine not only whether you have adequate backup power, but also surge suppression, power routing diversity, connector systems, and more. Testing backup systems under conditions that simulate an actual power event is also a good idea.<\/p>\n<h2>A practical guide on power protection systems to prepare for the worst<\/h2>\n<p>Healthcare facilities face the equivalent of crisis situations every day, at least from the perspective of the patients they serve. But pandemics like the coronavirus have the potential to raise the stakes to another level.<\/p>\n<p>To learn about the practical steps your facility should take to be prepared, even in the face of power disruptions, download the free Schneider Electric reference guide,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/go.schneider-electric.com\/WW_201903_A-Practical-Guide-to-Ensuring-Business-Continuity-and-High-Performance-in-Healthcare-A00811_EA-LP-EN.html?source=Content&amp;sDetail=SEDCBlog.com_WW&amp;keycode=A00811\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cA Practical Guide to Ensuring Business Continuity and High Performance in Healthcare Facilities.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0This guide covers issues ranging from regulatory compliance and business continuity to sustainability and getting executive buy-in. Also, access our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.se.com\/ww\/en\/work\/campaign\/industrial-business-continuity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">industrial business continuity web page<\/a>, which offers additional resources to help your facility prepare for the challenge of events like the coronavirus presents.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality\/2020\/02\/12\/coronavirus-healthcare-facilities-power-protection-systems\/\">Coronavirus Highlights Need for Healthcare Facilities to Have Power Protection Systems<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\">Schneider Electric Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality\/2020\/02\/12\/coronavirus-healthcare-facilities-power-protection-systems\/\" target=\"bwo\" >http:\/\/blog.schneider-electric.com\/feed\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Credit to Author: Hans Luppens| Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 14:51:00 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As fresh reports pour in each day about the spread of the Chinese coronavirus, it should serve as a reminder to hospitals and other healthcare facilities just how important they&#8230;  <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality\/2020\/02\/12\/coronavirus-healthcare-facilities-power-protection-systems\/\" title=\"ReadCoronavirus Highlights Need for Healthcare Facilities to Have Power Protection Systems\">Read more &#187;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\/power-management-metering-monitoring-power-quality\/2020\/02\/12\/coronavirus-healthcare-facilities-power-protection-systems\/\">Coronavirus Highlights Need for Healthcare Facilities to Have Power Protection Systems<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.se.com\">Schneider Electric Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[12389,12388],"tags":[24152,13176,5976,14816,18507,4227,22446],"class_list":["post-17726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scadaics","category-schneider","tag-coronavirus","tag-critical-power","tag-healthcare","tag-industrial-ups","tag-power-distribution-and-management","tag-power-outage","tag-power-protection-systems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}