Patient care was minimally affected by outage because backup generators restored some power to the hospital. As a precaution, 77 patients were transported to other federal facilities Tuesday because ancillary services were not adequate for proper patient care, according to Col. Michael A. Dunn, commander of the Walter Reed Health Care System. Patients were sent to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base and Veterans Hospital in D.C.

About 20 paients considered too ill to be moved, remained at the hospital, Dunn said. Surgery and clinical visits were cancelled Monday afternoon. The pharmacy reopened Wednesday and clinic visits were restored Thursday. Elective surgeries were still being cancelled. The hospital usually sees about 2,600 outpatients visits daily. An automatic calling system informed beneficiaries of the cancellations.

All nonessential personnel were sent home Monday at about 1 p.m. Those personnel were informed not to report to work Tuesday, but some employees complained they had not heard the notice issued to local radio and television stations. Many of those workers came to work Tuesday to find their buildings dark or locked. A similar situation occurred throughout the week, with some personnel showing up for work and then having to turn around to go back home.

Power was restored to all nearby homes affected by the outage by Monday evening, said Bob Dobkin of the Potomac Electric Power Co.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.