UNC Health Wayne, located on Wayne Memorial Drive, experienced a significant power outage on Saturday afternoon after an electrical transformer malfunctioned. The outage, which began around 2 p.m., lasted until approximately 11 p.m., according to Kimberly Fazio, the hospital’s marketing and communications director.
The incident, caused by a failed transformer rather than weather conditions, resulted in a complete loss of electricity throughout the facility. Despite the transformer failure, the hospital’s backup generators ensured that all critical systems remained operational. Fazio explained that the hospital’s protocol involves a “seamless transfer” to these generators whenever the primary power source is disrupted.
“The power loss was unexpected,” Fazio noted. “But our backup systems ensured that everything continued to run smoothly.”
Thanks to the generators, hospital staff were able to maintain their regular medical services and keep essential equipment, including lights, computers, and medical devices, functioning throughout the outage. Duke Energy crews worked diligently to repair the transformer, and power was fully restored by 11 p.m.
This incident marks the second operational disruption at UNC Health Wayne in recent months. In July, a computer outage occurred due to an overheated air conditioning system, but that issue was resolved within 90 minutes.
“Our team is always prepared for such events,” Fazio added. “We were able to continue providing services without interruption.”
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