Engine Customer Story
Louisiana Cat and East Jefferson General Hospital Are Prepared For Hurricane Season
News of Hurricane Katrina's imminence rolled in like the waves that crashed the coast. One broadcast after another exclaimed that Hurricane Katrina was ready to make landfall in southeast Louisiana, yet the staff at East Jefferson General Hospital remained calm before the storm and will remain so in the future.
What gives them this peace of mind? Their five Cat generators and Louisiana Cat Electric Power Sales Engineer Robert Kelly. 'We knew we could count on the service and dependability behind the Louisiana Cat and the Caterpillar name," said Timothy Talley, EJGH Director of Building Services. "The Cat generators stood up to the storm," said Richard Gabriel, EJGH Engineering Supervisor.
East Jefferson General Hospitals five Cat generators not only helped the Metairie, La., hospital remain operational during Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, but also provides the hospital with assurance for the upcoming hurricane season. Today, East Jefferson General Hospital owns 5 Cat generators. The first two were Cat 3516 Generator Set packages in 1991. These generators provide "Life Safety" power to patients rooms, supplying electricity to equipment such as ventilators, heart monitors and other vital machines. Two Cat 3412 Generator Set packages serve as standby generators for Life Safety, and its Cat XQ2000 Generator supplies standby power for the Domino Pavilion, which is the main section of the hospital.
"It was great, excellent service," Timothy said about Louisiana Cat's assistance during Hurricane Katrina, "They drove in with their service trucks and serviced our filters, fuel and oil. That was good". Thanks to Louisiana Cat's service and Cat generators, the hospital served as a shelter for patients, hospital staff and their family members, National Guardsmen, members of various local government agencies, and other citizens. Robert Kelly likes to keep in close contact with his customers, "We stay in contact to make sure there are no problems and to see if there's anything we can do to help them out", said Robert Kelly. Louisiana Cat's service isn't just reserved for emergencies. Richard Gabriel said, "I've got to say that nobody else has ever come by before a storm. I've seen Rob Kelly here and haven't seen anyone else. So if we have any questions then Rob is going to give us an answer pretty quick. I would have to call everyone else".
Facing round two with Hurricane Gustav, East Jefferson General Hospital once again remained open while other hospitals were forced to close their doors. Whenever there's a storm in the Gulf, East Jefferson knows it can count on Louisiana Cat's staff and its Cat equipment. "During Gustav they were able to get in and deliver us cables, believe it or not and the road blocks were up and they were still able to get cables in to us. I really thought we weren't going to get the additional cables. They drove them in within 48hrs of Hurricane Gustav hitting. It was good service", Richard noted.
