The interruption comes as hospitals and healthcare workers were still struggling seven months after hurricane Maria.
Still recovering from the havoc wreaked by hurricane Maria last September, Puerto Rico suffered another setback Wednesday, when the entire island lost electricity.
The U.S. territory's electric power authority said in a tweet that the outage is expected to last 24-36 hours for some customers. That's a long time for an island that was already struggling to restore not only fragile portions of its power grid but essential healthcare services that depend on it.
Hospitals, which the authority said are among the top priorities for the crews working to restore power, were forced to fire up their backup generators again, as The New York Times reported.
The outage comes as some especially vulnerable Puerto Ricans have been grappling with added barriers to access care and healthcare workers have been pressured by the disaster's long tail.
Related: For One Father And Son In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria's Cloud Has Not Lifted
Although this marks the first island-wide outage since the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, the repair efforts had not yet fully restored normal electricity service to certain areas.
Mainland U.S. hospitals were affected by Maria's devastation on the island as well. The hurricane disrupted Puerto Rico's production of intravenous (IV) saline solutions, sending facilities scrambling to avert a shortage, which was then exacerbated by a harsh flu season.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, issued a statement earlier this month indicating that saline solution producers in Puerto Rico had been "back online for months" and buttressed by two additional firms.
"The supply situation continues to improve and #FDA continues to monitor it closely," Gottlieb wrote. "We’re also providing updates through our website, which includes the most current status and product availability as reported to us by the drug manufacturers."
Steven Porter is an associate content manager and Strategy editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.