Customer: Professional Hospital
Location: Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Customer Buisness Issue: Standby power
Solution: One Cat 500 kW 3456 diesel generator set
Cat Dealer: RIMCO
Unstable power grid prompts hospital to choose Cat® gensets
Power Need
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico is located just ten miles southwest of the island’s capital and main tourist destination, San Juan. As a suburb of San Juan, Guaynabo is home to thousands of businesses that serve the island’s many citizens and tourists each year.
Professional Hospital, strategically located in Guaynabo’s municipality, is no different. This full-service hospital is a five-story, privately owned facility fully covered by private and government insurance that serves countless patients daily. It offers an array of specialized departments including medicine and surgery, intensive care, clinical lab, x-rays, sonography, a multi-slide CT-scan and pharmaceutical services. The staff is also specialized in vascular angioplasty, general, plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedics, arthroscopy, gynecology and more. One of Professional Hospital’s main areas of expertise is vascular surgery, including a specialized clinic in Circulation. With nine operating rooms, an extensive, modern emergency room that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a license for 202 patient beds, 1200 employees and 85 medical professionals, this hospital has a daily influx of emergencies that require immediate attention.
Puerto Rico’s unstable power grid causes frequent outages because the local utility must provide electricity to the entire island without an alternative backup source. Heavy rain and strong wind storms add to disruptions in the power flow. These interruptions are not just inconvenient for the busy hospital; they’re dangerous when life support units, surgical equipment and emergency room operations that depend on electricity are at risk.
Solution
Although all hospitals are required by law to have an on-site backup power source, Priscilla Rivera, Administrative Director for Professional Hospital, and Neftali Ortega, Plant Director, worked together to find the best possible power solution for the facility. “We could have chosen any cheap genset for the hospital but we chose to go with Caterpillar,” said Ortega. “My background is in construction, so I was already used to working with the company’s machinery. I was impressed with the level of reliability they brought to our projects. When I transitioned into my current position at the hospital, I immediately recommended Caterpillar for providing our standby power generation.”
When a company chooses to go with a Cat® product in Puerto Rico, it means working with certified Cat dealer RIMCO. The company has a long-standing reputation across the island for providing quality service and customer support.
Jorge Meléndez, sales engineer for RIMCO, worked with Ortega and Rivera to install a Cat 500 kW 3456 enclosed diesel generator set in 2008. In four years, the machine only has accumulated 900 hours, which is mainly due to weekly routine maintenance tests.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Professional Hospital,” said Meléndez. “Immediately after we installed this unit, the staff experienced an overwhelming sense of relief and security. It’s the answer that many people are looking for on this island, since we can’t depend on our main power source. They can sleep easier knowing that the facility will always be protected in case of a hurricane or other emergency.”
Result
Professional Hospital also has a Customer Support Agreement (CSA) with RIMCO to minimize any potential for downtime and manage costs. This includes preventative maintenance visits, scheduled oil samplings and Extended Service Coverage (ESC). ESC offers protection against unexpected repair bills and rising parts and labor costs by providing 100 percent reimbursement for covered components.
“The CSA and ESC provide unbeatable coverage,” said Ortega. “RIMCO has taken care of us every step of the way, answering all of our questions and coming out to look at the generator when necessary. If I could only say one word to describe the service we’ve received with our Cat product, it would be ‘excellent’.”
Soon a new facility will open at the front of the hospital with more offices and parking lots. This new space increases the need for backup power. “Who else would we choose for another generator? There is no question that we will be selecting Caterpillar again,” concluded Ortega.