Backup Generator Failure Postpones Surgeries At Sutter Medical Center

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Backup generators blew at Sutter Medical Center on Wednesday, halting dozens of surgeries.

Semis parked out in front of the hospital carrying backup generators while the original backups were repaired underground. Without them, the main hospital wouldn't have a backup source of power in case of an emergency.

A Sutter hospital spokesman says the generators suffered water damage and stopped working on Wednesday after a leak in the underground vault where the switch is located. The hospital says patients can't have surgery without backup power. Fifty surgeries were either rescheduled or relocated.

The main power inside the main hospital was never impacted.

Crews are still working to upgrade the original switch that was damaged by the water. Work will also be done in an underground vault where the switch is stored so that they make sure water doesn't damage it again.