NEW YORK — While the world continues to react to the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers are working with their local communities to expand treatment capacity and provide exceptional care for all patients. Power management company Eaton answered the call when Southside Hospital in Bay Shore on Long Island — part of Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider — recently extended its triage capabilities with an emergency hospital tent and called upon a local partner to provide the critical equipment needed to keep the facility up and running. The low-voltage power distribution solutions provided by Eaton will help enable reliable, always-on power for the continuous delivery of patient care in the temporary emergency facility.

“The rapid completion of our Southside Hospital facility expansion would not have been possible without Eaton and our local partners coming together on short notice to deliver essential equipment,” said Kurt Jahrsdoerfer, director of engineering, Northwell Health.

“The collaboration between our partners and others in our community will help bring essential care to patients during this pandemic,” said Steven McCormack, manager of plant operations, Northwell Health.

Electrical distributor WESCO International received an urgent call from local electrical contractor Gordon L. Seaman Inc. for two switchboards to distribute critical power to the triage tent facility being constructed at Southside Hospital. WESCO contacted the Eaton satellite in Westhampton, New Jersey, knowing that electrical solutions of that size and complexity could be built quickly by the satellite plant. Time was of the essence, so Eaton quickly activated a network of sites across Baltimore; Denver; El Paso, Texas; and Sumter, South Carolina, to coordinate materials and accelerate production. Ultimately, the New Jersey satellite was able to deliver switchboards on-site in one week, a fraction of the standard turnaround time for such complex equipment.

“When you’re in a situation like this and working amid a global pandemic, you need a partner you can really trust,” said Donald Schug, senior sales representative, WESCO International. “Eaton’s proven record of delivering above and beyond expectations as well as their presence in the local community gave me the confidence that they would deliver what I needed at the speed this project required, and that’s exactly what they did.”

With the Eaton switchboards providing continuous power for the triage tents, hospital staff can diagnose and treat non-COVID patients while maximizing the main facility’s ability to treat COVID patients.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is driving close collaboration between health care providers and their communities to ensure all patients receive the care they need,” said Justin Carron, global health care segment manager, Eaton. “I’m proud of the fast action and coordination our team and partners exhibited that enabled the delivery of essential switchboard technology to the team at Southside Hospital. As this pandemic continues, we remain committed to working with partners in these communities to solve challenges and deliver electrical solutions that meet their needs for safe, reliable power.”

For more information, visit https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/markets/healthcare/healthcare-industry-crisis-support.html.