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Probably not the kind of government shutdown they had in mind

A.P. Blake reports the VA Hospital in Jamaica Plain lost power around 10:30 a.m., and now the halls are lit only by emergency lights and only two elevators are running.

There's a veteran singing Charlie on the MTA, playing a banjo, in one of the waiting areas. This is what power outages do. ... Pretty much everyone in the hospital is cracking jokes about it. "De-fund ACA and we'll turn the power back on!"

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Comments

Not reassuring that a large hospital like the VA doesn't have extension emergency generator equipment.

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Maybe this hospital doesn't handle serious cases or emergencies, so there's no real need for backup power beyond emergency lighting and a little to keep a refrigerator or two running.

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They test the generators a few times every Wednesday morning, and the power flicks just long enough for computers to shutdown (gee, that's not a pain in the ass or anything when you're trying to organize transport for grumpy old veterans). A bit later in the morning, the power went out for maybe 5 seconds, which seems like eternity compared to the usual Wednesday shenanigans. You'd think with all the testing they do, especially just an hour or two before, would prepare them, right? No. They scrambled to figure out why only emergency wiring kicked in, as the generators are supposed to cover "everything," and eventually they were declaring an in-hospital disaster situation.

If the generators failed, I imagine the hospital being sent into chaos. There's no way they were capable of organizing an orderly evacuation.

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I'd rather deal with grumpy old veterans, than whinny young liberals every day, and twice on sunday.

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(minus the "liberal" part, since I don't see how that's relevant to one's level of whining)

There's a surprising percentage of elderly veterans who are very upbeat and courteous. But some of them are just plain nasty and miserable. I can't blame them, though -- they rely on VA healthcare, a true horror story.

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"(minus the "liberal" part, since I don't see how that's relevant to one's level of whining)" I'd advise you read UHub.......

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Have you not seen the Herald?

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What's the Herald got to do with this conversation? Did I miss something?

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I guess you missed the part where the Herald's commentors (and many anons here) make it clear that whininess is a trait shared by reactionaries/conservatives as well as libruls.

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I have been receiving medical care from the VA since the 1970's. For the overwhelming most part the care has been very good. I can count on one hand the times I've had a problem. Given the caseload they carry, I think they do a great job. If you're looking for a horror story try getting care in some of the ER's in the area.
I think your last statement is wrong.

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How are veterans and liberals exclusive of one another? If they are mutually exclusive, better stand back because I'm going to implode soon ...

Check out these guys, when you have a chance: http://www.veteransforpeace.org/

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Power was out for about 45 minutes. We've had much more severe power outages and aside from people not knowing if it was going to come back up or if we should head to an early lunch, no real crankiness in our department. VA healthcare is not a horror show though by any stretch. Also, the hospital in JP is entirely outpatient, and all the clinical areas have emergency power plugs (e.g. Dialysis, where it would be a problem to be without power for 45 minutes). Not the 'Born on the 4th of July' experience people like to imagine.

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You said it.

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"We've had much more severe power outages" I thought you were trying to increase confidence!

Definitely had to have been more than 45 mins though. What was it; 10:30 to 12 or so? Okay, under the 2 hours I thought, but that's a while.

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