Serious about patient safety, they trust Caterpillar for power

Client: Vista Ophthalmic Ambulatory Center

Location: Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

Solution: 600 kW C18 diesel generator set 

Cat Dealer: RIMCO

Power Need

Vista Ophthalmic Ambulatory Center is a premier outpatient surgical facility located in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Owned by private investors and doctors, Vista is licensed by the Department of Health, certified by Medicare and accredited by the Accreditation Program of Health Facilities of the American Society of Osteopathy. With modern facilities and advanced technologies, Vista’s proficient team of surgeons conducts medical procedures involving cataracts, retinas, glaucoma, oculoplastics and even ocular oncology.

Highly qualified clinical and administrative staff members create a positive experience for patients from start to finish. The team provides a comfortable, stress-free environment with quick check-in and check-out processes, individualized attention and access to state-of-the-art instruments and equipment.

Patient safety is a top priority at Vista; however, operating a surgical facility on an island that has an unstable power grid is dangerous and likely to cause serious problems. “All of the equipment we use is electrical, so it requires a steady input of power,” said Angie Jiménez, Business Office Manager for Vista. “There can be no disruptions in power flow as critical eye surgeries take place on a daily basis.”

Solution

Even though government regulations require surgical facilities to have a backup power source, Vista wanted to go even further to ensure the highest level of patient safety at all times. So, the center turned to Caterpillar to provide its power generation solutions before the clinic opened in 2009.

“We looked for the best possible brand with local representation that would give us peace of mind knowing our patients and facility would be taken care of, no matter what,” explained Jiménez. “The local Cat® dealer RIMCO has always had a strong reputation throughout the entire island for providing reliable power solutions and a high level of service to match their quality products.”

Since 1981, RIMCO is the exclusive Cat dealer that has been providing power generation solutions and heavy machinery in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Barbados and other islands of the Eastern Caribbean. RIMCO offers unwavering sales, parts, maintenance and customer service support that is trusted throughout Puerto Rico, above all others.

Vista worked with Jorge Meléndez, sales engineer at RIMCO, to outfit the facility with a 600 kW C18 diesel generator set that was installed in November 2008, just before the facility opened in 2009. Four Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) were installed to control the power flow between different facilities so not all areas would receive backup from the generator set at the same time, increasing genset efficiency.

Results

To provide the level of reassurance necessary to operate a surgical facility, Vista has a Customer Support Agreement (CSA) that helps maintain the proper working order for all Cat products on site. Four regular service visits per year include scheduled oil samplings and routine preventative maintenance check-ups. “We began our CSA in 2009 and have renewed it each year because it’s a valuable resource we’re not willing to give up,” said Jiménez.

Meléndez helped facilitate training of three Vista technicians to service the generator set and ATS. “The technicians Vista employs do a great job of maintaining optimal functionality of the generator set and ATS,” said Meléndez. “They have been a pleasure to work with, and are always available just in case there are any questions or if immediate attention is required.”

Immediate attention from RIMCO was needed at the very beginning of the service relationship with Vista. ATS settings had been accidentally altered by Vista technicians, so when electricity from the main power source failed, the unit did not transfer power correctly to the generator. As soon as Vista realized the system was not working properly, a call was immediately placed to RIMCO. Representatives arrived at the Vista facility within five minutes to fix the problem and bring the unit back online. RIMCO’s personnel even demonstrated the repairs to Vista technicians to avoid the same problem in the future.

“Since that time, we haven’t seen any other problems,” explained Jiménez. “Our equipment is always working properly. The generator powers the facility and our surgical equipment every time the electricity goes out. It was this type of service from RIMCO that proved to us that buying a reputable brand like Caterpillar, paired with excellent local representation, makes all the difference.”

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