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Power is Unreliable Even Without Hurricanes
Notably, hurricanes aren’t the only cause of power loss for these safety-net clinics. More than 35% of the organizations said lack of reliable power is an ongoing concern in their area, with nearly one in five (20%) saying they lose power at least once per quarter. Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms also bring down power lines, while periods of excessive heat often lead to intermittent localized outages.
Three organizations, including Palmetto Health Council in Palmetto, Ga., report losing power at least once per month. (Two of Palmetto’s eight clinic locations lost power when Hurricane Helene struck, one of them for 36 hours).
Volunteers In Medicine in Hilton Head Island, SC, which had intermittent power outages for two days after Hurricane Helene, also experiences outages during heavy thunderstorms. There is no natural gas supply to the island. The clinic has a gasoline-powered generator that can be manually connected to keep the pharmaceutical refrigerators running, with a tank that has enough fuel to run for about two days.
Volunteers in Medicine also runs a small clinic on the neighboring Daufuskie Island, which lost its grid power for more than eight days.
“There’s a significant population that lives on Daufuskie that is never coming off Daufuskie that [doesn’t] get health care, and there’s not even a doctor’s clinic on Daufuskie, which is why our presence there is so important.”
– Volunteers in Medicine’s Newman
More frequent and damaging tornadoes and other types of storms are also taking a toll on the power supply, while the demands of keeping indoor temperatures bearable amid more extreme heat are breaking down HVAC systems more quickly, said Van Winkle of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers.
1,791 tornadoes struck the United States in 2024, making it the second-worst year on record for U.S. tornadoes. The spike was driven in part by hurricane activity. Hurricane Milton spawned 46 tornadoes in Florida—a new state record for a single outbreak.
Unlike with hurricanes, whose path and intensity can be tracked as they approach, with tornadoes “you just never know where or how bad it will be,” Van Winkle said. Many of the tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton struck the eastern coast of Florida, across the state from where the storm first landed, she pointed out. “It just adds to the uncertainty and the anxiety collectively around the state. The threat is very real and very widespread.”
Availability and Uses for Backup Power
Among the 80 organizations responding to the survey, only 12% had backup power at all of their service delivery sites, 38% had backup power at some of their sites, and 50% had no backup power at all.
FQHCs were far more likely to have backup power: Among FQHCs, 23 of the 25 had at least some backup power (primarily generators powered by fossil fuels). Three FQHC organizations had batteries, one of which was paired with solar panels.
Among FCCs, only 17 of the 55 had at least some backup power, while 38 had none.
At those FQHCs, backup power enables a crucial set of capabilities, respondents said. In addition to the most commonly cited uses of backup power – protecting refrigerated medicine, being able to remain open and treat patients, and accessing medical records – respondents cited several more specialized but likewise essential functions. These include building security (by operating the badge readers that allow staff to access the clinic), ensuring power remains on during medical procedures, being able to order prescriptions, and providing a place for people to use electricity-powered home medical devices.
Backup Power at Federally Qualified Health Centers
Do Sites Have Backup Power (FQHCs)?
Types of Backup Power (FQHCs)
Backup Power at Free & Charitable Clinics
Do Sites Have Backup Power (FCCs)?
Types of Backup Power (FCCs)
Among the 33 organizations that had no backup power but were interested in setting up such systems (two FQHCs and 31 FCCs), respondents said backup power would allow them to continue to operate their clinics during a power outage, to run critical systems including electronic health records, air conditioning, and telephone systems, and to maintain refrigeration for medicines and vaccines.
First Choice Primary Care, an FQHC in Macon, Ga., has backup power at some of its six sites – powered by natural gas, and used to back up pharmaceutical refrigerators – but is interested in adding backup capacity to enable continue operation when grid power goes down. “Acquiring backup generators and alternative power sources would help ensure continuity of care during power outages,” the clinic said in its survey response.
Asked what kind of additional backup power they would like, the organizations are most interested in generators using gas or diesel fuel, or in battery backup.
What would backup power enable that would otherwise be impossible if utility power is lost?
