# NH woman on oxygen dies after power cut to home



## Simusid (Jun 26, 2010)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062503592.html

This is more about preplanning via EMA/Fire and less about EMS, but still relevant to have a discussion about it.  This is not the first time I've heard stories like this either.  

I really do not think there is an evil mustache-twirling villain at the power company just dying (hah!) to disconnect the power.   If they know there is a critical patient they WON'T turn the power off, yet this still happens and the burden is on the victim.   

Most of the houses that I've been to that have O2 gen have some kind of visiting nurse or patient advocate.   I'm going to look into this and see if there are any mandatory reporting protocols.


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## Aidey (Jun 26, 2010)

I nearly posted this myself. I agree about the lack of evil mustache-twirling villain. I don't really think this is a big heartless corporation problem, and more of a patient education and lack of communication problem. 

People who have home medical equipment had to get that equipment from somewhere, and when people are given prescriptions for the equipment and have it delivered there should be through education for the pt and their family members/caregivers. This should include information or a check list of what to do when problems arise. Also information like notifying the power company, the 911 system (calling and giving them a "hey, heads up" type thing like is done with expected home deaths) and anyone else that is pertinent.

It is also totally impossible to tell from the article what type of equipment it was. Was it a simple concentrator or was it a ventilator? There is no way of knowing if the patient had the ability to call for help either.


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## LucidResq (Jun 26, 2010)

No matter how past due my dad let the phone bill get, they would not turn it off because he has a seizure disorder. Same with the power (home phone plugged in to wall- can't call for help if power's off). It was a simple matter of calling them up and notifying them.


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## subliminal1284 (Jun 26, 2010)

In Wisconsin before a utility worker can shut your power off they have to knock on the door and find out if anyone inside is on oxygen or if there is any other medical equipment that requires power, if there is they legally can not shut it off.


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## Sasha (Jun 26, 2010)

Any way you slice it, this entire situation could have been avoided if they had just paid their power bill..

In the article it states that a worker knocked on the door with no answer, prior to cutting off the power, maybe the patient was already in trouble/unconcious/sick prior to the power being cut and it was a coincidence? True it doesn't state what kind of equipment the patient was on, but I can't see leaving a vented patient at home, alone, for over an hour? Or even a bed confined patient, just doesn't seem very likely but then again common sense isn't so common anymore.


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## Shishkabob (Jun 26, 2010)

What kind of "powered oxygen equipment" are we speaking of here?  A vent?  




I mean it could be any number of things, and might not even be related to the power being turned off in the first place.


I hate journalist.  They suck at providing relevant info.


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## JPINFV (Jun 26, 2010)

Linuss, based off of the contents, I'm going to say that it was most likely an oxygen concentrator. 



LucidResq said:


> No matter how past due my dad let the phone bill get, they would not turn it off because he has a seizure disorder. Same with the power (home phone plugged in to wall- can't call for help if power's off). It was a simple matter of calling them up and notifying them.



That's kinda of interesting for a few reasons. First off, simple phones don't need power to run and second, phones without service (both hard wire and cell) can still call 911.


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## LucidResq (Jun 26, 2010)

JPINFV said:


> That's kinda of interesting for a few reasons. First off, simple phones don't need power to run and second, phones without service (both hard wire and cell) can still call 911.



Yeah, I was kind of surprised too honestly. All of our home phones did require power. And I knew about the 911 thing too... I have no idea why they did it.


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## EMSLaw (Jun 26, 2010)

We've had a few calls of this ilk - during storms or power outages, where we were asked to do welfare checks on, or bring oxygen bottles to, people on O2 who lost their power.  Of course, most people who have an oxygen concentrator should also have a backup tank, but that's neither here nor there.  We also have a list of people who have medical problems requiring that the power stay on - generated by the local power company.  

Seems like a sad situation, though.  I'm sure information on the investigation will be buried on page 46 beneath the fold in about six months.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 26, 2010)

> Any way you slice it, this entire situation could have been avoided if they had just paid their power bill..



Wow...I think that's the closest thing to a cold, brutal statement I've ever heard out of you Sasha.  I'm so proud. ^_^



> Linuss, based off of the contents, I'm going to say that it was most likely an oxygen concentrator.



It's unlikely that losing an O2 concentrator for an hour or two would kill someone except in extreme end-stage COPD.  The other big question I have is if she was a vent patient, why the hell would the family leave her unattended?  It's also possible that she died of something entirely unrelated (heat stroke anyone?) and the timing was simply a coincidence. 

Also, having worked home health, most of the concentrators I have seen are not equipped with alarms (at least not ones that are particularly useful).  This family has one hell of a lawsuit against their home oxygen supplier _if _it was a loss of power that shut down a concentrator and killed her.  It's pretty much standard practice for such organizations to put liquid O2 cylinders or compressed tanks in the home for use as either a backup or during travels away from the home.


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## Aidey (Jun 26, 2010)

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/sale...power_is_cut_nh_woman_dies_and_furor_follows/

That link has a little bit more information, and it does sound like it may have been a concentrator. A quote near the end of the article also mentions she used portable tanks when she went out. 

This increases my suspicion that something else was going on and the power being shut off was either a coincidence or a secondary event. 

There was one curious thing in the article, the same quote that said she uses portable tanks also said she sleep with an oxygen tent around her bed. Has anyone heard of this for home use?


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 26, 2010)

> There was one curious thing in the article, the same quote that said she uses portable tanks also said she sleep with an oxygen tent around her bed. Has anyone heard of this for home use?



Not in a very, very long time.  That, however, would raise the spectre of heat-related death in my mind, thinking as a former deputy coroner.  If you've ever been in one, even in a well air conditioned room, you know how warm it can get if it's being ventilated.  I'm putting my money on this being a heat-related death and not the result of the oxygen concentrator being OOS.


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## Aidey (Jun 26, 2010)

Would an oxygen concentrator be able to supply enough oxygen to increase the concentration inside of the tent significantly? (I'm thinking if this is a tent over an adult sized bed)

Also, what would the benefits be using an oxygen tent instead of a more direct delivery system? I understand why they are used in kids (they can take a cannula/mask off) but I have to admit I didn't think they were really used with adults.


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## usafmedic45 (Jun 26, 2010)

> Would an oxygen concentrator be able to supply enough oxygen to increase the concentration inside of the tent significantly?



My guess would be no.  Most of the ones on the market (last time I looked) only provide a maximum output of 4-6 LPM.  



> Also, what would the benefits be using an oxygen tent instead of a more direct delivery system? I understand why they are used in kids (they can take a cannula/mask off) but I have to admit I didn't think they were really used with adults.



Pretty much that's the only reason I could see one being used.  Even then, an oxygen tent is only truly effective at delivering a set concentration if it's tightly sealed (which most aren't, at least in common practice) and the device is best used to deliver humidification rather than as a strict oxygen delivery device.  I haven't used or seen one used in several years, despite having worked in a general pediatrics ward and pedi ICU for some time.  The closest thing in relatively common use is a plastic shell-like device used in neontal units to deliver O2 to babies by fitting over the head of the infant.


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## MMiz (Jun 27, 2010)

I think we'd all agree that this is an unfortunate situation.  Unfortunately articles like rhizome are posted every summer and winter.  I think is safe to say that a patient that requires oxygen has at least one, two, or more medical conditions.  Usually the hot or cold weather also haves big part to play in the situation. Surely there are programs out there to provide power to those with a medical necessity and without the means to pay for it.  Though others may disagree, I'd like to believe that everyone has the right to life.


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## Sasha (Jun 27, 2010)

No one is saying the woman doesn't have a right to life, but on the risk of sounding like a cold hearted witch, people also have the right to seek payment for services rendered. If they are unable to pay, then the family or the woman should've taken the steps to inform the power company why the power was so important to the woman's survival and make arrangmenents to keep it on.

You really can't place blame on the power company for turning it off.

I still don't think the woman died because her O2 concentrator was turned off. The fact someone came to her door but she didn't answer prior to the power being turned off leads me to believe she was already sick and in need of assistance.


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## JPINFV (Jun 27, 2010)

MMiz said:


> Surely there are programs out there to provide power to those with a medical necessity and without the means to pay for it.  Though others may disagree, I'd like to believe that everyone has the right to life.


While I'm not sure about this specific case, I know for a fact that National Grid has those programs (I was the utility account holder for one of my apartments in Boston). However, it doesn't do anyone any good if no one informs the utility company that a property has a resident with medical needs requiring electricity.


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## Trayos (Jun 28, 2010)

I'd be interested to know what condition she was in that would have rendered her unconscious after about an hour without supplied oxygen, she might not have been long for this world regardless.


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