Baby delivered as hundreds of patients evacuated from White Memorial Hospital due to lengthy power outage
Patients at White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights were taken to designated hospitals today after being evacuated due to a power outage.
Many of those patients were on ventilators and deemed to be in critical condition.
The outage was reported at 11:45 p.m. Monday and firefighters were called to 1720 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. between North Boyle Avenue and North State Street regarding a power outage at the hospital's Specialty Care Center, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
There were 241 patients affected by the loss of power, said LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
While the chaos ensued around them, as those patients were taken to the different locations, one woman opted to deliver her baby inside of the hospital instead of in an ambulance waiting outside, thanks in large part to the flashlights held by nurses during the birth.
"I had the option to get transported, but I knew my baby was already coming out," said Aillyn Villabona, speaking to KCAl. "It was really hard to see anything. The nurses just ended up using their flashlights and phones to help us."
And thus, Jacob Phoenix Villabona Ugaldo was born.
He and his mother were among the 17 patients who moved to Adventist Global Health Care in Glendale, after he was born. Seven of those patients were newborn babies in the NICU.
28 other patients were in critical condition and had to be transported to designated hospitals "with more patients being prepared for transport."
The remaining 213 patients in non-critical were moved to the hospital's South Tower, authorities said.
The evacuated patients included infants and their mothers. One patient was giving birth during the outage and another patient was rescued after being trapped inside a non-working elevator.
Power was restored at around 2:15 p.m.
Hospital officials say that their power source was first impacted during the worst of Tropical Storm Hilary on Sunday, but the backup generators were able to shoulder the load through the night and into Monday, before they similarly failed.
"As of 4:08 p.m., most of our patients have already been returned to their rooms; outpatient care is expected to be open tomorrow as usual. Throughout the power outage, our Emergency Room never closed, it remained open to the public, treated patients, and stabilized any who needed to be transferred to other hospitals," said a statement from hospital officials. "We greatly appreciate the tremendous support provided by the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Thanks go out to our skilled and dedicated staff for their unwavering dedication to providing exceptional care and service for our patients."
