LAKE COUNTY — The next time a widespread power shutoff darkens Lake County, local health officials hope to secure public access to more resources for the medically fragile, especially those who need medical equipment and oxygen to survive.
During Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s repeated deliberate power outages this month, the utility opened what it termed “community resource centers” to provide basics like device charging, bottled water and temperature controlled seating for those affected by its decisions. But these centers were not overnight shelters—they closed each day at 8 p.m., reopening again at 8 a.m.—and did not specifically cater to people with serious medical needs.
As a result, some locals who use oxygen, and those with conditions like sleep apnea, which is often treated by an electrically-powered continuous positive airway pressure machine, went with out sleep during the shutoffs.
“I’m worried I would not wake up,” said Josette Kanter, an Upper Lake resident with sleep apnea.
In a joint meeting Tuesday of Lake County, Lakeport and Clearlake officials, Sutter Lakeside Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Daniel Peterson said the Lakeport hospital he manages saw numerous patients visit in order to charge their medical equipment.
During both the Oct. 26 and Oct. 29 shutoffs, he said, “we had a significant number of people coming in to charge medical devices.” The hospital provided these people the opportunity, but Peterson said the demand posed a problem.
”We wanted to support that for medical devices but not for everything, in order to preserve our resources for the medical needs of the community,” he said.
In addition, Peterson noted, “We did experience a number of our medical patients at home with teeth chattering because of the cold.”
Dr. Gary Pace, Public Health Officer for the County of Lake, discussed one potential remedy to these issues, which the departments of public health and social services have identified as a goal for future shutoffs.
Pace said that along with social services director Crystal Markytan, he has been working through the logistics of opening “medical respite shelters” for those in need of non-emergency care during shutoffs.
“What we’re trying to do is to focus it on these medically fragile people,” Pace said on Thursday. “The elders, the people that are on the machines…the people that require oxygen.”
Plans for such shelters are still in development, but Pace said they would likely offer heat, cots, electric power, water, snacks and 24-hour open hours.
At least two locations have been identified as candidates: the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Lakeport and Lower Lake High School. Pace noted that the Middletown and Northshore areas will need to be considered for shelters as well.
Pace and Lake County Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy both cited logistics and expense as the major barriers to opening shelters.
Pomeroy said orchestrating shelter operations during a power shutoff would be “a feat in itself.”
But in a meeting on Wednesday with PG&E representatives, Pace said, the utility noted it may open up grant funding for things like this. “There’s grant applications that we’re going to be putting in for,” Pace said, “through PG&E and through some other (entities).”
Still, Pace acknowledged that even if these shelters come to fruition, “it’s not the right solution. The solution is that they (the people) have power in their home. This is a desperate kind of safety net afterwards.”
