Shake, Rattle … and Retrofit

California Hospitals Continue Push to Meet Seismic Standards

By Glen Granholm

Hospitals in California are on the clock. The next major earthquake is on the way and time is running out for healthcare facilities to get seismically upgraded to meet state mandated timeframes and be ready before the ground begins to move again.

In April 2008, The United States Geological Survey placed the likelihood of a 6.7 or greater magnitude earthquake striking the state within the next 30 years at 99 percent. The 1994 Northridge quake, a 6.7 magnitude event, disabled nine San Fernando Valley hospitals within 30 seconds, and spurned the creation of Senate Bill 1953, which established seismic readiness standards for the more than 450 California hospitals.

Much of the damage to hospitals during that estimated $50 billion Northridge disaster occurred when critical gas and water lines broke. The damage prompted legislators to specify time frames for the retrofitting of these systems under a section of the Senate bill named NPC-3. Hospitals had until Jan. 1, 2008, to be NPC-3 compliant. While a few hospital companies chose to rebuild rather than retrofit, and fewer still actually got the seismic upgrade needed, the vast majority of facilities failed to meet the deadline, and were granted extensions by California’s Office of State Health Planning and Development.

A Complex Endeavor

The challenges to complete NPC-3 compliance are as varied as the hospital environment itself. Some contractors have a tough time bidding the work because of the complex nature entailed. Above ceiling environments in hospitals are a maze of piping, tubing, and conduit, and the mandated work applies to just a portion of what is found above ceiling.

In addition, infection control is critical, and requires detailed pre-planning and precise execution, as all of the work is performed in, above and around areas deemed critical care by OSHPD. Quick turnarounds and late night maneuvering are often needed to work around the hospital’s surgery or obstetrics schedule and regardless of the scope of the work, there is always the danger of the entire process being halted by an influx of patients.

The typical NPC-3 project involves one primary contractor subbing out the infection control, detailed fastening work, drywall, electrical and plumbing. In the end it’s a lot of cooks in the seismic retrofit kitchen.

Human Touch

The complex above-ceiling environment and its impact on the bidding process is the first of many hurdles for hospital seismic retrofit process.

Every step of the NPC-3 process is monitored closely by the state of California. Each piece of fastening hardware used must receive OSHPD approval and the work is monitored daily by an on-site inspector who reports on project progress to all applicable state and federal agencies. Hospital infection control officers also work with facility management to monitor the work as the project proceeds in and above labs, operating rooms and intensive care units.

“Walking into an active NPC-3 work area is sort of like walking onto the Space Shuttle,” says Aaron Bartenstein, director of infection control of San Diego-based Essrig Taylor Construction (ETC).

“We’ve got guys who look like astronauts, a big open ceiling with pipes and wires and conduit running everywhere, all in an enclosed area, completely isolated from the outside environment.”

To help personalize the environment, ETC, which is working on several major NPC-3 projects in Southern California, brings a mobile earthquake simulator to the job site, where employees and the community participate in seismic readiness demonstrations. The device also provides a news angle for media outlets to cover the project.

“Hospitals spend a lot of money and resources to meet the state standards and when the work is done they don’t get new furniture, carpeting, or any improvement that can be seen,” says Michael Essrig, chief executive officer of ETC, who created the Quake Cottage, the original mobile earthquake simulator demonstrating the effectiveness of Safe-T-Proof safety straps and furniture fasters.

“The Quake Cottage brings some media attention to all the effort the hospitals are putting forth.”

The job is essentially invisible to the general public, but when the big one hits and healthcare services are needed, they will be thankful that it was priority.

Glen Granholm is a project manager at Essrig Taylor Construction Inc. Essrig Taylor Construction Inc. • www.etcusa.net