Seismic Legislation and its Impact on California Hospitals Erika Grace, RN UCSF school of Nursing

California earthquakes & how they have impacted hospitals

1994 Northridge Earthquake Holy Cross Medical Center Kaiser Parking Lot

Structural steel did not perform as well as expected.

Northridge Earthquake The Last Straw 3 billion dollars in hospital related damages. 23 hospitals had to suspend some or all of their services. Seismic legislation (SB 1953) passed as a result of damages from the Northridge earthquake. California Healthcare Association

SB 1953 Requires Hospitals to comply with three seismic safety deadlines: –By 2002 all non-structural systems braced. –By 2008 all inpatient buildings rebuilt, retrofitted, or closed. –By 2030 all hospitals must be operational after any earthquake. California Healthcare Association

SB-1953 Structural Rating System SPC-1 buildings that may collapse after a large earthquake. Deadline for retrofit or closure May seek an extension to 2013 SPC-2 buildings that are safe, but may have major damage after a large earthquake and may not be able to provide any or all services and may not be repairable. Deadline for retrofit or closure SPC-3 buildings that are within current seismic codes. Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development

Impact of SB 1953 on Hospitals Approximately 2700 acute care inpatient hospital buildings (470 hospitals) are mandated to comply. Estimated cost for all California hospitals is 41 billion dollars. State planning office has granted five year extensions to 150 hospitals, so far, under the “diminished capacity” category. Leight, 2004

Hospital Closures

Patient Overload

Only the strong will survive

Questions