Seismic Compliance Deadlines Looming

Hospitals across the state are making good progress in retrofitting and rebuilding efforts to meet the state’s seismic compliance requirements. However, a majority of hospitals (64%) will not be able to meet the looming 2013/2015 deadline.

The current national economic crisis and tight credit markets have made it impossible for hospitals to access the necessary capital to make these facility improvements.

• More than half of the state’s 430 hospitals are currently operating in the red, with several hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy. In light of these financial challenges and inability for hospitals to access capital, hospitals must be given more time and other reasonable solutions to meet the intent of the seismic safety law. The cost for complying with this unfunded mandate by the state is $110 billion without financing costs.
   
• If hospitals cannot meet the 2013/2015 deadlines, the state will be forced to close these facilities. Closures will likely occur in communities that can least afford to lose another emergency room or inpatient bed. Despite the current tightening of the job market, hospitals and health care providers will need thousands of new workers within the next three to five years. Critical shortages are forecast for clinical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians and nearly 200 other medical professions. These shortages will impact hospitals’ ability to provide patient care.