Emergency crews are working to evacuate hundreds of patients from White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights after the area suffered a major power outage.
The outage was reported at around 11 p.m. on Monday at the hospital’s Specialty Care Center and resulted in a mass evacuation, including those on a ventilator, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.
Fire officials shared that the part of the hospital affected by the outage contains the NICU, OB-GYN, and Special Aid rehabilitation departments, according to fire officials.
In total, 241 patients were impacted by the outage, and most of them were transported to another building of the hospital.
However, officials shared that 21 patients were rushed to other hospitals in ambulances as they were in critical condition.
“Because of the fact that no elevators were working... firefighters had to work together in conjunction with doctors on site and provide that same level of care that you would have with a ventilator or with special equipment and then go down those flights of stairs,” Cody Weireter with the Los Angeles Fire Department shared.
The department shared that firefighters were physically carrying patients downstairs because of the elevators.
It is not clear what resulted in the outage or when it will be back on.
According to the California Department of Public Health, all hospitals in the state are required to have backup generators. It is not clear whether or not the hospital had one or if it was not working.
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