KERN COUNTY, Calif. — After the magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake in 1994, Senate Bill 1953 was created. It first set a deadline for 2020, requiring all hospitals in the state to stay structurally sound during an earthquake.
"With the exception of just a couple of hospitals in California that got an extension to 2025, all of the hospitals in the state meet that requirement and every hospital in Kern County already meets that requirement, so from a safety patient standpoint, all hospitals are safe," said David Bacci, Regional Vice President for the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California.
But the bill also says by 2030, every service must still be available after an earthquake, even things like non-emergency surgeries.
Bacci said 64% of California hospitals have not met that requirement yet and while there is some time still, hospitals that haven’t started the process by now probably won’t meet the deadline.
He said a major factor is money, especially in the midst of the pandemic and inflation.
“The reasons are mostly cost, and so we're actually looking at a price tag of over $100 billion for the hospitals in the state to be able to comply with this," said Bacci.
In a statement, Kern Medical called the costs “exorbitant.” Still, they also said many parts of their operations have already met the 2030 requirements, including the emergency department, trauma center and operating rooms.
Units that still need either seismic mitigation or new replacement construction include labor and delivery, inpatient behavioral health, and some medical and surgical units.
According to the California Health and Human Services open data portal, there are 101 total hospital buildings in Kern County. 79 have already met the 2030 requirements.
The way the bill is written right now, hospitals that don’t meet those standards by 2030 will have to close.
Bacci said he’s concerned.
“Hospitals can close and it's a tragedy for the entire community when they do close, and it really just affects the quality of life and our healthcare for everyone," said Bacci.
One argument though is the hospitals have had time to comply and this bill will hold them accountable.
In an email, the California Department of Health Care Access and Information told 23ABC, “The 2030 deadline for the Seismic Safety Act has been set by the Legislature. The Department of Health Care Access and Information carries out the statutes established by the State of California and works with hospitals to make sure they meet seismic compliance standards under the law.”
Bacci said the council and other associations are pushing for the state to extend the deadline or change the requirements.
“There is an attempt made to try to limit that to only emergency services and the services needed to make sure that people had the most urgent care so there's been attempts at that. There were looks at extending the deadline. Work is going to continue," he said.
23ABC reached out to the other hospitals across Kern County for comment but was either declined or did not hear back.
