United Medical Center in Southeast D.C. was under a power outage for more than 13 hours Thursday and Friday and moved some patients, including one COVID-19 patient, to other hospitals.
Generators were running but some parts of the main hospital building had no power.
The power outage hit the hospital at about 9 p.m. Thursday amid storms in the region, the hospital said in a statement. It came amid temperatures in the 80s.
Three backup generators were running and temperatures in most areas were cool, hospital spokeswoman Toya Carmichael said Friday morning. Despite the generators, there were areas that did not have power.
Six patients in intensive care were moved to the emergency room department. Five patients were then moved to other D.C. hospitals.
Power was restored at about 10:15 a.m. Friday, the hospital said.
Work continued on other equipment at the hospital, including backup generators and chillers, Mayor Muriel Bowser said in an update. The city’s health department and Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency are working with hospital officials.
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Surgeries will be canceled for the day if necessary and additional patients may be transferred to other hospitals.
"[Hospital] leadership and clinical staff will continue to put patient safety first as we weather the storms that come during the hot summer months,” hospital CEO Colene Daniel said in a statement that cited "aged infrastructure."
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
