On May 29 at 4:00 pm Kendal had a power outage and failure. Darkness reigned (though it was still light outside). Kendal went into in its emergency status. There had been a fire in some of the electrical wires outside Kendal (actually on the Hospital grounds) and it was not known how quickly Con Edison could restore power.
Generators kept the Memory Support and Skilled Nursing units working at their normal level.
Elevators and hall lighting, also powered by generators, worked normally. Pat Doyle called an emergency meeting of all residents through Kendal's telephone system (which works during emergencies).
Pat talked about the need for enhanced safety procedures and noted that the kitchen staff, which had been in the process of preparing dinner, would have take-out meals for all. Magically they did that, and by 6:00 pm meals had been prepared and were distributed.
At 7:30 pm Con Edison was able to reroute power and normalcy returned to Kendal.
The quick actions of all the staff pointed out to all the residents how well trained and committed they are.