Sammies finalist built database for first responders to find people without power

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For most of us, the worst thing that can come from a power outage is a bit of inconvenience. For people who depend on medical devices like ventilators, the consequences can be life-or-death. The Department of Health and Human Services has spent the last several years building a database of those people so that first responders can find and help them quickly in the event of an outage. Kristen Finne is the manager of the program, called emPOWER. She’s also a finalist in this year’s Service to America Medals program. She talked about her work, including how it’s helping people impacted by this week’s major outages in northern California, with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

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