Hospital planned power outage tonight

Huntsville District Memorial Hospital has planned an emergency back-up system shut down to install a new MRI machine on Wed., Feb. 26, 2025. (Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press)

A power outage at any hospital is usually considered an emergency.

However, the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital (HDMH) has planned a four-hour power outage of the emergency back-up power system Wednesday.

The outage is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and end by midnight.

The shutdown is necessary to connect the under-construction MRI Suite to emergency back-up power, an essential step for Muskoka and area’s first MRI machine.

“An outage of this magnitude has involved tremendous planning to address all of the impacts and mitigate potential risks to ensure everyone’s safety,” said Cheryl Harriso, president & CEO.

“Because much of the hospital’s critical equipment is connected to emergency back-up power lines and will not function during the outage, we are urging as little traffic as possible at the HDMH during the outage window.”

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During the four-hour power outage, all scheduled surgical procedures, or ambulatory or outpatient tests, clinics or treatments have been re-booked.

Where it is safe to do so, ambulances will bypass the Huntsville Emergency Department, which will have limited capability and will be available for urgent care only.

The South Muskoka Memorial Hospital (SMMH) in Bracebridge will be used for obstetrical deliveries on February 26.

Increased traffic is anticipated at the SMMH and preparations are being made to handle the extra people attending.