As California shakes, hospitals seek delay for needed upgrades
Medical institutions lose billions from coronavirus pandemic
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — One hour after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California on Thursday, the California Hospital Association tweeted that it’s “time to update seismic standards — to focus on all the services people need after a disaster of any kind.”
But the association’s tweet omitted that its proposal circulating in the state Capitol would actually weaken existing standards, giving hospitals another seven years — until 2037 — to ensure that their buildings remain operable after the Big One and limiting the required upgrades to buildings that support emergency services.
Nor did the tweet mention that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, in private negotiations at the state Capitol, has supported the association’s request for more time to do less work, according to multiple sources involved in the discussions in Sacramento who were not authorized to speak about them. Newsom’s office declined to comment.
Debates about hospital building standards aren’t new in California. This time around, they have resulted in an impasse between some of the most powerful forces in state politics: labor unions and hospitals.
The effort to delay legally required seismic upgrades at California hospitals is one of a few remaining issues before Newsom and the Legislature can reach a long-deferred final agreement on the state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.
Hospitals represented by the association argue that existing seismic standards are too costly, are in some ways unnecessary and that their industry needs more time to recover from massive financial losses during the pandemic.
In a letter to legislative leaders late last month, the association claimed that even with federal aid, California hospitals lost $8 billion in 2020 caring for COVID-19 patients and expect to lose another $2.2 billion this year.
Existing law requires that by 2030, every hospital building is capable of operating following an earthquake.