Hospital quake rules a late discovery

Seismic regulations that thwart the possibility of North Valley Hospital refurbishing its existing facility didn't come to light until the hospital was well on its way of planning a new hospital, administrator Craig Aasved said.

"In all the studies done, even the one by American Health Facilities Development, it wasn't until later that the structural analysis was done, and I don't know the why for that," Aasved said.

American Health Facilities Development is a company associated with Quorum Management, the firm that manages North Valley Hospital under contract. The development company analyzed the local health-care market and created a master plan for the Whitefish hospital.

A facility review conducted by CTA Architects for the hospital's initial $4.5 million plan to refurbish the existing building didn't mention the seismic problem, Aasved said. He did not have a copy of the CTA report but said he was getting one.

The structural review carried out by Peterson Strehle Martinson Inc. was part of a facility options evaluation prepared by the Seattle-based Professional Practice Environments firm in 2003. The review came as North Valley Hospital worked through the controversy of a decision to build a new hospital instead of remodel the old one.

Aasved said the hospital board first considered a $3.5 million remodeling project. The price increased to $4.5 million and then $6 million.

The board "began to question what it would cost to build new," Aasved recalled. "It seemed to be more economical to look at new construction."

At the heart of the current hospital's seismic woes is the core of the building built in 1968.

In 1971 a major earthquake in the Los Angeles area destroyed two hospitals, causing several deaths and putting into motion new building codes for hospitals.

"As a result, the structural building codes for hospitals were essentially rewritten to improve performance during a seismic event," the structural study reported. "After each subsequent earthquake, the codes have been revised again based on the performance of buildings during those events."

In the meantime, the seismic rating for the Whitefish area has been revised upward. Whitefish is now considered to be a Zone 3 area, the second most severe rating possible.

It's possible to bring the current hospital into compliance, but it may be cost-prohibitive for the life expectancy the hospital could expect from a refurbished building, consultants said.

"Although it might be possible to design a retrofit for the structure, the interventions needed are extensive enough that the masonry exterior walls, interior walls, ceilings and finishes would all need to be removed," the study said. "It is likely that it would be more economical to entirely remove the upper floor the rebuild from scratch."

State licensing officials have let the noncompliance slide because of North Valley's plans for a new facility, Aasved said, adding that it would be only a matter of time before the hospital's accreditation would be in jeopardy given the seismic deficiencies.

Roy Kemp, state licensure bureau chief, is out of town this week and was unavailable for comment.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com