California allows hospitals to delay seismic upgrades

Even profitable successful hospitals have not begun the process...and if work began today at all facilities, there are not enough contractors to handle...BD

SACRAMENTO -- With three-quarters of California's acute-care hospitals at risk of collapsing in a major earthquake, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has approved new rules allowing many facilities to bypass the extremely costly building reinforcements the state ordered after the 1994 Northridge temblor.
Schwarzenegger is permitting some financially struggling hospitals to keep operating until 2020 even though the state says they are most likely to crumple during a major seismic event. The move is a break from the governor's stated policy that the least-sound buildings should be upgraded first.

With that milestone a month away, only 97 of California's 436 acute-care hospitals meet the law's standards. State records show that 244 hospitals have not yet begun major construction; 43% are in Greater Los Angeles.

California allows hospitals to delay seismic upgrades - Los Angeles Times