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DISASTER PLANNING & PROOFING 3 4 a Structural Performance Category, which ranges from SPC-1 to SPC-5. Depending on where a building ranks, the facility must make appropriate changes/upgrades to safeguard it during and after an earthquake strikes. For example, SPC-1 buildings are named hazardous and at-risk of collapse, and therefore must be retrofi tted, replaced or removed from providing acute care services by 2013, whereas buildings with a lower risk and classified as SPC-2 have until 2030. To improve SPC-1 buildings, OSHPD created the HAZUS Re-assessment Program, a voluntary program designed to re-evaluate seismic risk to buildings. Under the program, OSHPD enforces a methodology called HAZARDS U.S. that identifies a building's risk factors. Participating facilities are required to upgrade and/or retrofi t in different ways; some facilities require smaller changes, such as stiffening structures and systems, including HVAC and electrical and gases that service the facility, while others require complete replacement. Recently, a hospital in San Jose, Calif. underwent the HAZUS analysis and it was determined that replacement was the only option for the facility. While reconstructing the facility, the "Shaker Test" was used in conjunction with the HAZUS Re-assessment Program where all equipment, including boilers, chillers and utility systems, were tested through simulated intense seismic waves to see how it responds to a seismic event. The test is important not only to determine if the equipment is able to withstand a seismic event, but to ensure that there is meaningful use after the event. As a result, the new hospital is "seismically braced," meaning each utility has the ability to run effectively during and after a disaster. Also, the new hospital's foundation, which represents the most vertical component of the structure, is three times heavier than a hospital located outside of California. However, disasters do not just occur Disaster proofing a facility involves a range of preventive measures, and typically begins before it is built. 38 Medical Construction & Design | January/February 2013 3. Frontal exterior view of Tampa General Hospital. 4. The Tampa General Hospital's emergency room was elevated to the second floor to mitigate the facility's risk to floods and was also designed to accommodate a surge of patients. once a building is complete. Hospital facilities need to have an emergency plan in place to protect a facility while it is being built – protecting not only the facility itself, but also the workers building the project. Hurricanes Florida is another state highly susceptible to severe weather, especially hurricanes. Several years ago, a team was tasked with constructing Homestead Hospital, Fla., a replacement hospital affiliated to the Baptist Health South Florida system. The hospital is a fi ve-story, 392,000-square-foot facility consisting of 120 beds, an emergency center, operating rooms and clinical space. During construction, the eye of three hurricanes passed less than 50 miles from the hospital's location and, thanks to a disaster plan, the jobsite was secure throughout the storms. Prior to construction, the team developed an extensive disaster preparedness plan in case threatening weather was to strike. To ensure the www.mcdmag.com