Published: 2015-07-09
Key Benefits:
(a) Within three years after the adoption of the standards described in Section 130020, owners of all general acute care hospitals shall:
(1) Conduct seismic evaluations in accordance with procedures developed by the office pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 130005 and submit evaluations to the office for its review and approval.
(2) Identify the most critical nonstructural systems that represent the greatest risk of failure during an earthquake and submit the timetables for upgrading those systems pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 130005 to the office for its review and approval.
(3) With respect to the nonstructural performance evaluation required by this subdivision, the evaluation need not exceed those required by the nonstructural performance category the hospital owner has elected. Additional evaluations shall be obtained if the hospital owner elects to obtain a higher nonstructural performance category at a future date. A hospital owner shall report to the office all deficiencies that are pertinent to the nonstructural performance category the hospital owner has elected to attain. A complete nonstructural evaluation and list of nonstructural deficiencies shall be submitted to the office prior to the hospital owner selling or leasing the hospital to another party.
(b) Within three years after the adoption of standards described in Section 130020, owners of all general acute care hospitals shall prepare a plan and compliance schedule for each building under the office’s jurisdiction that indicates the steps by which the hospital intends to bring their hospital buildings into substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act, identifies the phasing out of or retrofit of noncomplying structures and systems, or outlines steps for relocation of acute care services to facilities that comply with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act, and presents comprehensive plans and compliance schedules to the office for its review and approval, and integrates this schedule into the facility’s master plan.
(c) Owners of all general acute care hospitals may be granted a one year allowance from the requirements of subdivision (b) by the office if they demonstrate a need for more time to prepare plans and compliance schedules for their buildings.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 228, Sec. 3. Effective September 4, 2001.)
Within 60 days following the office’s approval of the report submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 130050, general acute hospital building owners shall do all of the following:
(a) Inform the local office of emergency services or the equivalent agency, the Office of Emergency Services, and the office, of each building’s expected earthquake performance.
(b) Include all pertinent information regarding the building’s expected earthquake performance in emergency training, response, and recovery plans.
(c) Include all pertinent information regarding the building’s expected earthquake performance in capital outlay plans.
(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 395. Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)
(a) (1) After January 1, 2008, any general acute care hospital building that is determined to be a potential risk of collapse or pose significant loss of life shall only be used for nonacute care hospital purposes, unless an extension of this deadline has been granted and either of the following occurs before the end of the extension:
(A) A replacement building has been constructed and a certificate of occupancy has been granted by the office for the replacement building.
(B) A retrofit has been performed on the building and a construction final has been obtained by the office.
(2) An extension of the deadline may be granted by the office upon a demonstration by the owner that compliance will result in a loss of health care capacity that may not be provided by other general acute care hospitals within a reasonable proximity. In its request for an extension of the deadline, a hospital shall state why the hospital is unable to comply with the January 1, 2008, deadline requirement.
(3) Prior to granting an extension of the January 1, 2008, deadline pursuant to this section, the office shall do all of the following:
(A) Provide public notice of a hospital’s request for an extension of the deadline. The notice, at a minimum, shall be posted on the office’s Internet Web site, and shall include the facility’s name and identification number, the status of the request, and the beginning and ending dates of the comment period, and shall advise the public of the opportunity to submit public comments pursuant to subparagraph (C). The office shall also provide notice of all requests for the deadline extension directly to interested parties upon request of the interested parties.
(B) Provide copies of extension requests to interested parties within 10 working days to allow interested parties to review and provide comment within the 45-day comment period. The copies shall include those records that are available to the public pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(C) Allow the public to submit written comments on the extension proposal for a period of not less than 45 days from the date of the public notice.
(b) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this subdivision, to facilitate the process of having more hospital buildings in substantial compliance with this chapter and to take nonconforming general acute care hospital inpatient buildings out of service more quickly.
(2) The functional contiguous grouping of hospital buildings of a general acute care hospital, each of which provides, as the primary source, one or more of the hospital’s eight basic services as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, may receive a five-year extension of the January 1, 2008, deadline specified in subdivision (a) of this section pursuant to this subdivision for both structural and nonstructural requirements. A functional contiguous grouping refers to buildings containing one or more basic hospital services that are either attached or connected in a way that is acceptable to the State Department of Health Care Services. These buildings may be either on the existing site or a new site.
(3) To receive the five-year extension, a single building containing all of the basic services or at least one building within the contiguous grouping of hospital buildings shall have obtained a building permit prior to 1973 and this building shall be evaluated and classified as a nonconforming, Structural Performance Category-1 (SPC-1) building. The classification shall be submitted to and accepted by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. The identified hospital building shall be exempt from the requirement in subdivision (a) until January 1, 2013, if the hospital agrees that the basic service or services that were provided in that building shall be provided, on or before January 1, 2013, as follows:
(A) Moved into an existing conforming Structural Performance Category-3 (SPC-3), Structural Performance Category-4 (SPC-4), or Structural Performance Category-5 (SPC-5) and Non-Structural Performance Category-4 (NPC-4) or Non-Structural Performance Category-5 (NPC-5) building.
(B) Relocated to a newly built compliant SPC-5 and NPC-4 or NPC-5 building.
(C) Continued in the building if the building is retrofitted to a SPC-5 and NPC-4 or NPC-5 building.
(4) A five-year extension is also provided to a post-1973 building if the hospital owner informs the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development that the building is classified as SPC-1, SPC-3, or SPC-4 and will be closed to general acute care inpatient service use by January 1, 2013. The basic services in the building shall be relocated into a SPC-5 and NPC-4 or NPC-5 building by January 1, 2013.
(5) SPC-1 buildings, other than the building identified in paragraph (3) or (4), in the contiguous grouping of hospital buildings shall also be exempt from the requirement in subdivision (a) until January 1, 2013. However, on or before January 1, 2013, at a minimum, each of these buildings shall be retrofitted to a SPC-2 and NPC-3 building, or no longer be used for general acute care hospital inpatient services.
(c) On or before March 1, 2001, the office shall establish a schedule of interim work progress deadlines that hospitals shall be required to meet to be eligible for the extension specified in subdivision (b). To receive this extension, the hospital building or buildings shall meet the year 2002 nonstructural requirements.
(d) A hospital building that is eligible for an extension pursuant to this section shall meet the January 1, 2030, nonstructural and structural deadline requirements if the building is to be used for general acute care inpatient services after January 1, 2030.
(e) Upon compliance with subdivision (b), the hospital shall be issued a written notice of compliance by the office. The office shall send a written notice of violation to hospital owners that fail to comply with this section. The office shall make copies of these notices available on its Internet Web site.
(f) (1) A hospital that has received an extension of the January 1, 2008, deadline pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) may request an additional extension of up to two years for a hospital building that it owns or operates and that meets the criteria specified in paragraph (2), (3), or (5).
(2) The office may grant the additional extension if the hospital building subject to the extension meets all of the following criteria:
(A) The hospital building is under construction at the time of the request for extension under this subdivision and the purpose of the construction is to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) to allow the use of the building as a general acute care hospital building after the extension deadline granted by the office pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b).
(B) The hospital building plans were submitted to the office and were deemed ready for review by the office at least four years prior to the applicable deadline for the building. The hospital shall indicate, upon submission of its plans, the SPC-1 building or buildings that will be retrofitted or replaced to meet the requirements of this section as a result of the project.
(C) The hospital received a building permit for the construction described in subparagraph (A) at least two years prior to the applicable deadline for the building.
(D) The hospital submitted a construction timeline at least two years prior to the applicable deadline for the building demonstrating the hospital’s intent to meet the applicable deadline. The timeline shall include all of the following:
(i) The projected construction start date.
(ii) The projected construction completion date.
(iii) Identification of the contractor.
(E) The hospital is making reasonable progress toward meeting the timeline set forth in subparagraph (D), but factors beyond the hospital’s control make it impossible for the hospital to meet the deadline.
(3) The office may grant the additional extension if the hospital building subject to the extension meets all of the following criteria:
(A) The hospital building is owned by a health care district that has, as owner, received the extension of the January 1, 2008, deadline, but where the hospital is operated by an unaffiliated third-party lessee pursuant to a facility lease that extends at least through December 31, 2009. The district shall file a declaration with the office with a request for an extension stating that, as of the date of the filing, the district has lacked, and continues to lack, unrestricted access to the subject hospital building for seismic planning purposes during the term of the lease, and that the district is under contract with the county to maintain hospital services when the hospital comes under district control. The office shall not grant the extension if an unaffiliated third-party lessee will operate the hospital beyond December 31, 2010.
(B) The hospital building plans were submitted to the office and were deemed ready for review by the office at least four years prior to the applicable deadline for the building. The hospital shall indicate, upon submission of its plans, the SPC-1 building or buildings that will be retrofitted or replaced to meet the requirements of this section as a result of the project.
(C) The hospital received a building permit for the construction described in subparagraph (B) by December 31, 2011.
(D) The hospital submitted, by December 31, 2011, a construction timeline for the building demonstrating the hospital’s intent and ability to meet the deadline of December 31, 2014. The timeline shall include all of the following:
(i) The projected construction start date.
(ii) The projected construction completion date.
(iii) Identification of the contractor.
(E) The hospital building is under construction at the time of the request for the extension, the purpose of the construction is to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) to allow the use of the building as a general acute care hospital building after the extension deadline granted by the office pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), and the hospital is making reasonable progress toward meeting the timeline set forth in subparagraph (D).
(F) The hospital granted an extension pursuant to this paragraph shall submit an additional status report to the office, equivalent to that required by subdivision (c) of Section 130061, no later than June 30, 2013.
(4) An extension granted pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be applicable only to the health care district applicant and its affiliated hospital while the hospital is operated by the district or an entity under the control of the district.
(5) The office may grant the additional extension if the hospital building subject to the extension meets all of the following criteria:
(A) The hospital owner submitted to the office, prior to June 30, 2009, a request for review using current computer modeling utilized by the office and based upon software developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), referred to as Hazards US, and the building was deemed SPC-1 after that review.
(B) The hospital building plans for the building are submitted to the office and deemed ready for review by the office prior to July 1, 2010. The hospital shall indicate, upon submission of its plans, the SPC-1 building or buildings that shall be retrofitted or replaced to meet the requirements of this section as a result of the project.
(C) The hospital receives a building permit from the office for the construction described in subparagraph (B) prior to January 1, 2012.
(D) The hospital submits, prior to January 1, 2012, a construction timeline for the building demonstrating the hospital’s intent and ability to meet the applicable deadline. The timeline shall include all of the following:
(i) The projected construction start date.
(ii) The projected construction completion date.
(iii) Identification of the contractor.
(E) The hospital building is under construction at the time of the request for the extension, the purpose of the construction is to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) to allow the use of the building as a general acute care hospital building after the extension deadline granted by the office pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), and the hospital is making reasonable progress toward meeting the timeline set forth in subparagraph (D).
(F) The hospital owner completes construction such that the hospital meets all criteria to enable the office to issue a certificate of occupancy by the applicable deadline for the building.
(6) A hospital located in the County of Sacramento, San Mateo, or Santa Barbara or the City of San Jose or the City of Willits that has received an additional extension pursuant to paragraph (2) or (5) may request an additional extension until September 1, 2015, to obtain either a certificate of occupancy from the office for a replacement building, or a construction final from the office for a building on which a retrofit has been performed.
(7) A hospital denied an extension pursuant to this subdivision may appeal the denial to the Hospital Building Safety Board.
(8) The office may revoke an extension granted pursuant to this subdivision for any hospital building where the work of construction is abandoned or suspended for a period of at least one year, unless the hospital demonstrates in a public document that the abandonment or suspension was caused by factors beyond its control.
(g) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (f), and Sections 130061.5 and 130064, a hospital that has received an extension of the January 1, 2008, deadline pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) also may request an additional extension of up to seven years for a hospital building that it owns or operates. The office may grant the extension subject to the hospital meeting the milestones set forth in paragraph (2).
(2) The hospital building subject to the extension shall meet all of the following milestones, unless the hospital building is reclassified as SPC-2 or higher as a result of its Hazards US score:
(A) The hospital owner submits to the office, no later than September 30, 2012, a letter of intent stating whether it intends to rebuild, replace, or retrofit the building, or remove all general acute care beds and services from the building, and the amount of time necessary to complete the construction.
(B) The hospital owner submits to the office, no later than September 30, 2012, a schedule detailing why the requested extension is necessary, and specifically how the hospital intends to meet the requested deadline.
(C) The hospital owner submits to the office, no later than September 30, 2012, an application ready for review seeking structural reassessment of each of its SPC-1 buildings using current computer modeling based upon software developed by FEMA, referred to as Hazards US.
(D) The hospital owner submits to the office, no later than January 1, 2015, plans ready for review consistent with the letter of intent submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) and the schedule submitted pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(E) The hospital owner submits a financial report to the office at the time the plans are submitted pursuant to subparagraph (D). The report shall demonstrate the hospital owner’s financial capacity to implement the construction plans submitted pursuant to subparagraph (D).
(F) The hospital owner receives a building permit consistent with the letter of intent submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) and the schedule submitted pursuant to subparagraph (B), no later than July 1, 2018.
(3) To evaluate public safety and determine whether to grant an extension of the deadline, the office shall consider the structural integrity of the hospital’s SPC-1 buildings based on its Hazards US scores, community access to essential hospital services, and the hospital owner’s financial capacity to meet the deadline as determined by either a bond rating of BBB or below or the financial report on the hospital owner’s financial capacity submitted pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2). The criteria contained in this paragraph shall be considered by the office in its determination of the length of an extension or whether an extension should be granted.
(4) The extension or subsequent adjustments granted pursuant to this subdivision may not exceed the amount of time that is reasonably necessary to complete the construction specified in paragraph (2).
(5) If the circumstances underlying the request for extension submitted to the office pursuant to paragraph (2) change, the hospital owner shall notify the office as soon as practicable, but in no event later than six months after the hospital owner discovered the change of circumstances. The office may adjust the length of the extension granted pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) as necessary, but in no event longer than the period specified in paragraph (1).
(6) A hospital denied an extension pursuant to this subdivision may appeal the denial to the Hospital Building Safety Board.
(7) The office may revoke an extension granted pursuant to this subdivision for any hospital building when it is determined that any information submitted pursuant to this section was falsified, or if the hospital failed to meet a milestone set forth in paragraph (2), or where the work of construction is abandoned or suspended for a period of at least six months, unless the hospital demonstrates in a publicly available document that the abandonment or suspension was caused by factors beyond its control.
(8) Regulatory submissions made by the office to the California Building Standards Commission to implement this section shall be deemed to be emergency regulations and shall be adopted as emergency regulations.
(9) The hospital owner that applies for an extension pursuant to this subdivision shall pay the office an additional fee, to be determined by the office, sufficient to cover the additional reasonable costs incurred by the office for maintaining the additional reporting requirements established under this section, including, but not limited to, the costs of reviewing and verifying the extension documentation submitted pursuant to this subdivision. This additional fee shall not include any cost for review of the plans or other duties related to receiving a building or occupancy permit.
(10) This subdivision shall become operative on the date that the State Department of Health Care Services receives all necessary federal approvals for a 2011–12 fiscal year hospital quality assurance fee program that includes three hundred twenty million dollars ($320,000,000) in fee revenue to pay for health care coverage for children, which is made available as a result of the legislative enactment of a 2011–12 fiscal year hospital quality assurance fee program.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 63, Sec. 1. Effective July 13, 2015.)
(a) An owner of a general acute care hospital building that is classified as a nonconforming Structural Performance Category-1 (SPC-1) building, who has not requested an extension of the deadline described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 130060, shall submit a report to the office no later than April 15, 2007, describing the status of each building in complying with the requirements of Section 130060. The report shall identify at least all of the following:
(1) Each building that is subject to subdivision (a) of Section 130060.
(2) The project number or numbers for retrofit or replacement of each building.
(3) The projected construction start date or dates and projected construction completion date or dates.
(4) The building or buildings to be removed from acute care service and the projected date or dates of this action.
(b) An owner of a general acute care hospital building that is classified as a nonconforming, Structural Performance Category-1 (SPC-1) building, who has requested an extension of the deadline described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 130060, shall submit a report to the office no later than June 30, 2009, describing the status of each building in complying with the requirements of Section 130060. The report shall identify, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Each building that is subject to subdivision (a) of Section 130060.
(2) The project number or numbers for retrofit or replacement of each building.
(3) The projected construction start date or dates and projected construction completion date or dates.
(4) The building or buildings to be removed from acute care service and the projected date or dates of that action.
(c) An owner of a general acute care hospital building that is classified as a nonconforming, Structural Performance Category-1 (SPC-1) building, shall submit a report to the office no later than November 1, 2010, describing the status of each building in complying with the requirements of Section 130060, and annually thereafter shall update the office with any changes or adjustments. The report shall identify at least all of the following:
(1) For each building that is subject to subdivision (a) of Section 130060 that is planned for retrofit or replacement, the report shall identify:
(A) Whether the hospital owner intends to retrofit or replace the building to SPC-2, SPC-3, SPC-4, or SPC-5.
(B) The deadline, as described in Section 130060 or 130061.5, for retrofit or replacement of the building that the hospital owner intends to meet, and the applicable extension for which the hospital owner has been approved.
(C) The project number or numbers for retrofit or replacement of each building.
(D) The projected construction start date or dates and projected construction completion date or dates.
(E) The most recent project status and approvals.
(F) The number of inpatient beds and patient days, by type of unit and type of service to be provided.
(2) For the building or buildings to be removed from acute care service, the following information shall be included:
(A) The projected date or dates the building will be removed from service.
(B) The planned uses of the building or buildings to be removed from acute care service.
(C) The inpatient services currently delivered in the building or buildings.
(D) The number of inpatient beds and patient days, by type of unit and type of service, for the years 2008, 2009, and 2010.
(E) Whether the general acute care services and beds will be relocated to a new or retrofitted building and any corresponding building sites or project numbers.
(3) Each hospital owner shall also report, for each facility for which any buildings will be removed from acute care service, any net change in the number of inpatient beds, by type of unit and type of service, taking into account beds provided in buildings to be taken out of service, beds provided in buildings to be retrofitted or replaced, and beds provided in any other buildings used for general acute care inpatient services by the facility.
(4) Each hospital owner shall report any general acute care hospital inpatient service that is provided in any general acute care hospital building that is rated SPC-1.
(5) Each hospital owner shall report the final configuration of all buildings on its campus showing how each building will comply with the SPC-5/NPC-4 or 5 requirements, whether by retrofit or by replacement, and the type of services that will be provided in each general acute care hospital building.
(d) The office shall make the information required by subdivisions (a) and (b), available on its Internet Web site within 90 days of receipt of this information.
(e) The office shall make the information required by subdivision (c) available on its Internet Web site within 90 days of receipt of this information. The office shall include the hospital name, hospital owners, and location of the buildings included in the report, and, to the extent possible, for service areas containing buildings for which hospital owners report information pursuant to subdivision (c), include information on the number of inpatient beds, by type of unit and type of service, provided by facilities operating buildings that are classified as SPC-2, SPC-3, SPC-4, and SPC-5.
(f) Hospitals that have not reported pursuant to this section are not eligible for the extension provided in subdivision (f) of Section 130060.
(g) A hospital that has not submitted a report pursuant to this section shall be assessed a fine of ten dollars ($10) per licensed acute care bed per day, but in no case to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day for each SPC-1 building not in compliance with this section until it has complied with the provisions of this section. These fines shall be deposited into the Hospital Building Fund as specified pursuant to Section 129795. A hospital assessed a fine pursuant to this section may appeal the assessment to the Hospital Building Safety Board.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 601, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2010.)
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) By enacting this section, the Legislature reinforces its commitment to ensuring the seismic safety of hospitals in California. In order to meet that commitment, this section provides a mechanism for hospitals that lack the financial capacity to retrofit Structural Performance Category-1 (SPC-1) buildings by 2013 to, instead, redirect available capital and borrowing capacity to replace those building by 2020. The mechanism is intended to allow these hospitals to meet the seismic requirements, and provide state agencies and the public with more timely and detailed information about the progress these hospitals are making toward seismic safety compliance.
(2) This section requires hospitals seeking this assistance to demonstrate that their financial condition does not allow them to retrofit these buildings by 2013, and requires them to meet specified benchmarks in order to be eligible for the extended timelines set forth in this section. Failure to meet any of these benchmarks shall result in the hospital being noncompliant and subject the hospital to loss of licensure.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure the continuation of services in medically underserved communities in which the closure of the hospital would have significant negative impacts on access to health care services in the community.
(4) It is also the intent of the Legislature that this section be implemented very narrowly to target only facilities that are essential providers in underserved communities and that lack the financial capacity to retrofit SPC-1 buildings by 2013.
(b) A hospital owner may meet the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 130060 by replacing all of its buildings subject to that subdivision by January 1, 2020, if it meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The hospital owner has requested an extension of the deadline described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 130060.
(2) (A) The office certifies that the hospital owner lacks the financial capacity to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 130060 for that building. In order to receive the certification, the hospital owner shall file with the office by January 1, 2009, financial information as required by the office. This information shall include a schedule demonstrating that, as of the end of the hospital owner’s most recent fiscal year for which the hospital owner has filed its annual financial data with the office by July 1, 2007, the hospital owner’s annual financial data for that fiscal year show that the hospital owner meets all of the following financial conditions:
(i) The owner’s net long-term debt to capitalization ratio, as measured by the ratio of net long-term debt to net long-term debt plus equity, was above 60 percent.
(ii) The owner’s debt service coverage, as measured by the ratio of net income plus depreciation expense plus interest expense to current maturities on long-term debt plus interest expense, was below 4.5.
(iii) The owner’s cash-to-debt ratio, as measured by the ratio of cash plus marketable securities plus limited use cash plus limited use investments to current maturities on long-term debt plus net long-term debt, was below 90 percent.
(B) The office shall certify that a hospital owner applying for relief under this subdivision meets each of these financial conditions. For the purposes of this subdivision, a hospital owner shall be eligible for certification only if the annual financial data required by this paragraph for the hospital owners and all of its hospital affiliates, considered in total, meets all of these financial conditions. For purposes of this section, “hospital affiliate” means any hospital owned by an entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under the common control of, directly or through intermediate entity, the entity that owns the specified hospital. The applicant hospital owner shall bear all costs for review, but not to exceed the costs of review, of its financial information.
(3) The hospital owner files with the office, by January 1, 2009, a declaration that the hospital for which the hospital owner is seeking relief under this subdivision shall satisfy all of the following conditions:
(A) The hospital shall maintain a contract with the California Medical Assistance Commission (CMAC) under the selective provider contracting program, unless in an open area as established by CMAC.
(B) The hospital shall maintain at least basic emergency medical services if the hospital provided emergency medical services at the basic or higher level as of July 1, 2007.
(C) The hospital meets any of the following criteria:
(i) The hospital is located within a Medically Underserved Area or a Health Professions Shortage Area designated by the federal government pursuant to Sections 330 and 332 of the federal Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Secs. 254b and 254e).
(ii) The office determines, by means of a health impact assessment, that removal of the building or buildings from service may diminish significantly the availability or accessibility of health care services to an underserved community.
(iii) The CMAC determines that the hospital is essential to providing and maintaining Medi-Cal services in the hospital’s service area.
(iv) The hospital demonstrates that, based on annual utilization data submitted to the office for 2006 or later, the hospital had in one year over 30 percent of all discharges for either Medi-Cal or indigent patients in the county in which the hospital is located.
(4) The hospital owner submits, by January 1, 2010, a facility master plan for all the buildings that are subject to subdivision (a) of Section 130060 that the hospital intends to replace by January 1, 2020. The facility master plan shall identify at least all of the following:
(A) Each building that is subject to subdivision (a) of Section 130060.
(B) The plan to replace each building with buildings that would be in compliance with subdivision (a) of Section 130065.
(C) The building or buildings to be removed from acute care service and the projected date or dates of that action.
(D) The location for any new building or buildings, including, but not limited to, whether the owner has received a permit for that location. The replacement buildings shall be planned within the same service area as the buildings to be removed from service.
(E) A copy of the preliminary design for the new building or buildings.
(F) The number of beds available for acute care use in each new building.
(G) The timeline for completed plan submission.
(H) The proposed construction timeline.
(I) The proposed cost at the time of submission.
(J) A copy of any records indicating the hospital governing board’s approval of the facility plan.
(5) By January 1, 2013, the hospital owner submits to the office a building plan that is deemed ready for review by the office, for each building.
(6) By January 1, 2015, the hospital owner receives a building permit to begin construction, for each building that the owner intends to replace pursuant to the master plan.
(7) Within six months of receipt of the building permit, the hospital owner submits a construction timeline that identifies at least all of the following:
(A) Each building that is subject to subdivision (a) of Section 130060.
(B) The project number or numbers for replacement of each building.
(C) The projected construction start date or dates and projected construction completion date or dates.
(D) The building or buildings to be removed from acute care.
(E) The estimated cost of construction.
(F) The name of the contractor.
(8) Every six months thereafter, the hospital owner reports to the office on the status of the project, including any delays or circumstances that could materially affect the estimated completion date.
(9) The hospital owner pays to the office an additional fee, to be determined by the office, sufficient to cover the additional cost incurred by the office for maintaining all reporting requirements established under this section, including, but not limited to, the costs of reviewing and verifying the financial information submitted pursuant to paragraph (2). This additional fee shall not include any cost for review of the plans or other duties related to receiving a building or occupancy permit.
(c) The office may also approve an extension of the deadline described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 130060 for a general acute care hospital building that is classified as a nonconforming SPC-1 building and is owned or operated by a county, city, or county and city that has requested an extension of this deadline by June 30, 2009, if the owner files a declaration with the office stating that as of the date of that filing the owner lacks the ability to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 130060 for that building pursuant to subdivision (b) of that section. The declaration shall state the commitment of the hospital to replace those buildings by January 1, 2020, with other buildings that meet the requirements of Section 130065 and shall meet the requirements of paragraphs (4) to (9), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(d) A hospital filing a declaration pursuant to this section but failing to meet any of the deadlines set forth in this section shall be deemed in violation of this section and Section 130060, and shall be subject to loss of licensure.
(Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 642, first Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2008.)
(a) With regard to a general acute care hospital building located in Seismic Zone 3 as indicated in the 1995 edition of the California Building Standards Code, any hospital may request an exemption from Non-Structural Performance Category-3 requirements in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations if the hospital building complies with the year 2002 nonstructural requirements.
(b) The office shall determine the maximum allowable level of earthquake ground shaking potential for purposes of this section.
(c) To qualify for an exemption under this section, a hospital shall provide a site-specific engineering geologic report that demonstrates an earthquake ground shaking potential below the maximum allowable level of earthquake ground shaking potential determined by the office pursuant to subdivision (b).
(d) (1) To demonstrate an earthquake ground shaking potential as provided in subdivision (c), a hospital shall submit a site-specific engineering geologic report to the office.
(2) The office shall forward the report received from a hospital to the Division of Mines and Geology in the Department of Conservation for purposes of a review.
(3) If, after review of the analysis, the Division of Mines and Geology concurs with the findings of the report, it shall return the report with a statement of concurrence to the office. Upon the receipt of the statement, if the ground shaking potential is below that established pursuant to subdivision (b), the office shall grant the exemption requested.
(e) A hospital building that is eligible for an exemption under this section shall meet the January 1, 2030, nonstructural requirement deadline if the building is to be used for general acute care inpatient services after January 1, 2030.
(f) A hospital requesting an exemption pursuant to this section shall pay the actual expenses incurred by the office and the Division of Mines and Geology.
(g) All regulatory submissions to the California Building Standards Commission made by the office for purposes of this section shall be deemed to be emergency regulations and shall be adopted as emergency regulations. This emergency regulation authority shall remain in effect until January 1, 2004.
(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 851, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.)
Notwithstanding Section 130063, a county-owned general acute care hospital building is allowed an extension of the Non-structural Performance Category-2 requirements of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The county submitted the compliance plan on or before January 1, 2001.
(b) The county submitted the Non-structural Performance Category-2 building plans to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development on or before September 1, 2001.
(c) The county complies with the year 2002 nonstructural requirements established by regulation 12 months after receipt of the building permit approval letter from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 247, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)
Notwithstanding Section 130063, an existing county-owned general acute care hospital building may receive a one-year extension of the January 1, 2002, deadline for the Non-structural Performance Category-2 requirements in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The existing hospital building is removed from general acute care service on or before January 1, 2003.
(b) Construction of the replacement building that will meet the 2030 nonstructural and structural deadline requirements, which commenced before January 1, 2001, is completed by January 1, 2003.
(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 247, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2002.)
(a) In lieu of the extension described in subdivision (f) of Section 130060, the office may grant an extension to a general acute care hospital pursuant to either subdivision (c) or (f) if the hospital building will not meet the seismic safety standards of that section by January 1, 2013, due to a local planning delay.
(b) When applying for an extension under this section, the owner of the general acute care hospital shall submit to the office documentation that includes at least all of the following:
(1) The original schedule of the project or projects as had been originally anticipated.
(2) The schedule of the project or projects as currently projected.
(3) A timeline for the submission of documents to the local planning authority or jurisdiction.
(4) Documentation that the local planning authority for the project and for the enabling phases of the project does not grant approvals prior to November 1, 2010, where the hospital had originally filed the local application prior to January 1, 2008.
(5) A proposed construction timeframe demonstrating the completion of the project once the permit is issued. The construction timeframe shall be approved by the office and shall only include the amount of time that is reasonably necessary to complete the construction required to meet the seismic safety requirements.
(c) The office may grant an extension, in full one-year increments, but no longer than three consecutive years, that compensates for delays determined pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) The office shall conduct a comprehensive review of the schedule for the project or projects according to criteria specified in this section. This review shall encompass the project or projects under the jurisdiction of the office, as well as other project phases not under the jurisdiction of the office. The office shall consider the cumulative effect of local approval timelines for all elements of the project or projects, inclusive of changes in scope or sequence of the project or projects required by the local planning process. The office may grant extensions based on an evaluation of each of the following circumstances:
(1) Where the local planning authority approvals have delayed or will delay the construction start date of the project or projects.
(2) Where the local conditions of approval on a project or projects extend the duration beyond the originally anticipated construction completion date.
(3) Where the cumulative effect of delays on the project or projects creates additional construction delays due to local seasonal weather impact requirements of the local planning authority.
(4) Construction related to the seismic retrofit or replacement project has begun by January 1, 2013.
(5) The project or projects were submitted for review by the department no later than January 1, 2009.
(6) The project or projects have received a building permit from the department no later than January 1, 2012.
(e) Every six months after the approval of the extension, the hospital owner shall report to the office on the status of the project or projects, demonstrating that it is making reasonable progress toward meeting the construction timeline.
(f) The office may grant an additional extension of up to two years in addition to the extension granted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) only if the project or projects meet all of the following criteria:
(1) A matrix of buildings at the hospital that identifies compliance of each building to the standards required by Section 130065 at the completion of the project or projects.
(2) The construction timelines submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) were determined to go beyond three years from the date the building permit was issued.
(3) Acute care services will not be provided in any SPC-1 building at any time during the extension.
(4) The hospital demonstrates that it has, and maintains throughout the extension, life safety systems in all acute care patient care areas that do not depend on, and are not routed through, an SPC-1 building.
(5) The hospital either demonstrates that the SPC-1 building does not pose a structural risk to an adjoining hospital building that is used for acute care services or mitigates the risk in accordance with a deadline described in subdivision (f) of Section 130060 that the office determines will best protect patient safety.
(g) The office may revoke an extension granted pursuant to this section for any hospital building where the work of construction is abandoned or suspended for a period of at least six months, unless the hospital demonstrates that the abandonment or suspension was caused by factors beyond its control.
(h) The office may revoke an extension granted pursuant to this section if it is determined that any information submitted pursuant to this section was falsified in any manner by the hospital or if the hospital fails to meet any of the criteria or conditions specified in this section.
(i) Regulatory submissions made by the office to the California Building Standards Commission pursuant to this section shall be deemed, and shall be adopted as, emergency regulations.
(j) The hospital owner that applies for an extension pursuant to this section shall pay to the office an additional fee, to be determined by the office, sufficient to cover the additional cost incurred by the office for maintaining all reporting requirements established under this section, including, but not limited to, the costs of reviewing and verifying the extension documentation submitted pursuant to this section. This additional fee shall not include any cost for review of the plans or other duties related to receiving a building or occupancy permit.
(k) A hospital denied an extension pursuant to this section may appeal the denial to the Hospital Building Safety Board.
(Added by Stats. 2010, Ch. 623, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2011.)
In accordance with the compliance schedule approved by the office, but in any case no later than January 1, 2030, owners of all acute care inpatient hospitals shall either:
(a) Demolish, replace, or change to nonacute care use all hospital buildings not in substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act.
(b) Seismically retrofit all acute care inpatient hospital buildings so that they are in substantial compliance with the regulations and standards developed by the office pursuant to the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act and this act.
Upon compliance with this section, the hospital shall be issued a written notice of compliance by the office. The office shall send a written notice of violation to hospital owners that fail to comply with this section.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 1996.)
The office shall notify the State Department of Health Services of the hospital owners that have received a written notice of violation for failure to comply with either Section 130060 or 130065. Unless the hospital places its license in voluntary suspense, the state department shall suspend or refuse to renew the license of a hospital that has received a notice of violation from the office because of its failure to comply with either Section 130060 or 130065. The license shall be reinstated or renewed upon presentation to the state department of a written notice of compliance issued by the office.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 1996.)
