Douglas E. Stover, P.E., Principal, Director of Electrical Engineering, FreemanWhite, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.

Ideal Reliability

Electricity is the lifeblood of a hospital. Naturally, patients' lives depend on sophisticated medical equipment and highly skilled medical professionals, but people and equipment depend, in turn, on a hospital's electrical "circulatory system." Without power, lighting would be inadequate, temperature control would be difficult, and most critically, certain types of life support and diagnostic equipment would be impossible to use. Consequently, reliability is the watchword for hospital power systems. But what degree of reliability can be considered adequate for a health-care facility? While preventing system failure is the ultimate goal, after code requirements have been met, the level of reliability for a hospital's electrical power system is in the eye—and budget—of the beholder.