VA wants California to stop planned blackouts for patient safety

Ahead of the fourth planned electricity blackout of October in California, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie implored Gov. Gavin Newsom to cancel the shutoff due to potentially “life-threatening effects” on the state’s 1.6 million veterans, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., began the outage Oct. 29 as part of its efforts to reduce wildfires.

“Power outages could become dangerous for veterans receiving in-home care and those who rely on power for the refrigeration of life-saving medications like insulin,” Mr. Wilkie wrote in an Oct. 28 letter to Mr. Newsom, according to the report. “With so many veterans dependent upon these necessities, the uncertainty these power outages pose is extremely troubling.”

Mr. Wilkie noted the VA facilities in the state had backup generators, but voiced concerns about veterans living on their own. Vito Imbasciani, MD, PhD, the California VA secretary, confirmed in a response that the state’s veterans’ homes had power during the outages and that staff are monitoring patients with medical conditions, according to the report.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/va-wants-california-to-stop-planned-blackouts-for-patient-safety.html