CA hospitals on track for 2013 seismic deadline

The San Diego Union-Tribune, February 16, 2011

San Diegans should feel relatively safe if the big one rattles the county while they?re in the hospital, according to information released this month. Still, while all hospitals in San Diego County expect to be ready for earthquake standards that take effect in 2013, most will need to spend tens of millions of dollars to replace buildings to meet tougher regulations that kick in by 2030. Sharp Memorial Hospital is the county?s only acute care hospital that still must do a major retrofit to meet the first deadline. A $30 million project is set to start this summer on two eight-story towers, facilities manager Dave Suydam said. Several other hospitals have to do smaller retrofits that don't involve patient care areas.