Hundreds of CA hospitals to miss safety deadline

Nearly half of approximately 900 hospital buildings being retrofitted to meet new California seismic safety guidelines will miss the state's January 2008 compliance deadline (extended to 2013 for many older structures), and many may not even meet a second deadline in 2030, according to a California HealthCare Foundation/Rand Corporation report. Given that compliance will require construction of 40 million to 70 million square feet of space, it could be more than 30 years before the law is fully implemented, the researchers say. A large part of the problem is that retrofits are not as simple and cost-effective as state lawmakers had assumed, so many affected hospitals have chosen to rebuild rather than shore up existing structures. Plus, half the state's hospitals are losing money, a California Hospital Association spokeswoman told the Associated Press.

To learn more:
- access the report
- read the AP article

Related Articles:
Hospital construction costs skyrocket. Report
Hospital building boom leaves inner cities behind. Report
CA bill would allow hospital fines. Report
CA caps self-pay hospital fees. Report