Power restored to Youngstown nursing home
The storms that took out power lines Sunday affected more than 70 residents living at a Youngstown nursing home on East Midlothian Boulevard.
The storms that took out power lines Sunday affected more than 70 residents living at a Youngstown nursing home on East Midlothian Boulevard.
The power was turned back on at Oasis Center for Rehabilitation and Healing around 5 pm Monday, which was much earlier than the original estimation time of 10:30 pm.
John Saulitis, director of the long-term care ombudsman program with the Area Agency on Aging 11, said in many cases the generator provides only limited power for medical equipment, so there is minimal lighting in halls and no lighting or power in resident rooms.
"Any personal care or transfers have to be done with combinations of flashlights and some cases staff using cell phone lights," he explained.
The heating did not rely on electricity, and it was turned back on at the request of the ombudsman Monday morning, according to Saulitis.
The long-term care ombudsman program had staff in the building and their volunteer much of the day talking to residents and addressing any issues the residents brought to light. They were also informing residents on the latest estimation time of when power would be restored.
"The staff at the facility did a reasonable job in meeting the resident needs. The role of the ombudsmen is to stay in contact with as many individual residents in the facility to address any individual concerns that may arise during the course of a long power outage, for instance, asking residents if they were warm enough, did they have adequate assistance, we were checking on oxygen supplies," Saulitis said.