Barton Building Extensions https://hcai.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ExtensionRequests-08092024.pdf Pg 17
By mid-2026, all California hospitals will have met the state’s stringent life safety seismic standards, making them among the safest buildings in the state. Hospitals will stand after an earthquake, people will be safe, and hospitals will work with their communities to protect patients’ access to health care. Hospitals face another deadline of Jan. 1, 2030, for more requirements. Any hospital building that does not meet these will be forced to close and patient care will cease. California must prioritize access to patient care. https://calhospital.org/issues/2030-seismic-requirements/
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A Brief History
In the early hours of Jan. 17, 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Northridge shook Southern California. The earthquake killed at least 57 people and injured thousands. It resulted in about $20 billion in damages and about $40 billion in economic loss, making it the most costly earthquake in U.S. history, according to the California Department of Conservation.
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Twelve hospital buildings sustained severe structural damage and had to be evacuated. In response to the Northridge earthquake, California lawmakers passed a law that fortified the state’s existing seismic safety standards for hospitals.
The law requires hospitals to either upgrade their existing buildings or replace them to ensure safety. Buildings that don’t meet the earthquake standards have to cease operating.
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The first set of requirements (with an original deadline of 2008 but eventually pushed back 12 years, to 2020) mandated that hospital buildings be structurally fit enough to remain standing after an earthquake. Most hospitals have met this deadline, but 23 facilities out of 414 have at least one building that has yet to comply, according to data tracked by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information. The state gave those hospitals a couple of more years, until 2025 in some cases, to come into compliance.
The second deadline, set for 2030 and the one being debated, requires hospital buildings to also remain fully functional and be able to provide services following a quake. Currently, about 62% of hospitals have at least one building that has yet to meet the 2030 structural standards.
Hospitals are also required to make “non-structural” improvements by 2030 so that their systems, including water supply and equipment, can support at least 72 hours of operation after an earthquake. And while 2030 may seem a long way out, several hospital executives said that if hospitals have not yet started their upgrade plans, they may struggle to meet that deadline.
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The second deadline, set for 2030 and the one being debated, requires hospital buildings to also remain fully functional and be able to provide services following a quake. Currently, about 62% of hospitals have at least one building that has yet to meet the 2030 structural standards.
https://calmatters.org/health/2023/01/seismic-safety-hospitals-california/
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