Santiam Hospital & Clinics has taken possession of a $110,000 generator that will make it easier for hospital operations to continue amid power outages or other emergencies.
Santiam Hospital & Clinics purchased the new 108kW trailer-mounted generator through the Oregon Department of Emergency Management’s (OEM) State Preparedness and Incident Response Equipment (SPIRE) Grant program.
The purpose of the program is to provide critical emergency preparedness equipment to local governments and other eligible recipients. The generator will allow Santiam Hospital & Clinics and other buildings in the surrounding community to quickly power up in the event of a power outage.
The portable generator will strengthen emergency preparedness and give local response teams an important tool to respond swiftly and effectively to outages. The equipment also will be made available to local partners who can power up their buildings to ensure vulnerable individuals are served, said Erik Anderson the hospital’s emergency management coordinator.
“The generator lets us work with organizations like Santiam Outreach Community Center to provide a place for patients to charge medical devices, phones, and electronics, and stay comfortable during power outages,” Anderson said in a hospital press release. “With increasing community need, this generator is essential to the local community’s emergency response.”
The SPIRE grant program is paid for by Oregon House Bill 2687, which became effective in August 2017. Since that time the program has continued to grow with legislative approval of additional bonds to provide emergency equipment statewide.
The hospital and the city of Aumsville, meanwhile, will be receiving more emergency equipment via the most recent SPIRE grant announcement. As reported in the Oct. 1 edition of Our Town, Aumsville will be receiving a large generator worth $150,000. The new equipment, said city administrator Ron Harding, will help Aumsville cope with a loss of power in an emergency.
The hospital, meanwhile, will receive $20,400 worth of portable lighting, which can be used in the Stayton area as well as up and down the Santiam Canyon, hospital officials said.
The grants are part of a program that will pass out 120 pieces of equipment to 83 jurisdictions statewide.
