This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
On Aug. 21, the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) released a revised advisory guide on the water rationing plan due from general acute care hospitals by the end of this year. This requirement is known as Nonstructural Performance Category-5 and is a part of the 2030 seismic building standards.
Updates to the advisory guide include:
- The addition of a new section on frequently asked questions (Appendix C)
- Updates to the optional plan template hospitals can use (Appendix A)
- Of note, these include California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recommendations for industrial water to heat, cool, or humidify certain areas of the hospital.
- The addition of a checklist that CDPH will use to evaluate the plan (Appendix D). Note: Hospitals will submit the plan to HCAI, which will initially review the plan. Once HCAI’s comments are resolved, HCAI will send it to CDPH for review and approval.
On Aug. 22, HCAI held a webinar on the NPC-5 requirements. The slides are available on CHA’s website; the recording will be available on HCAI’s website in late September.
HCAI previously announced it will hold an additional webinar on Assembly Bill (AB) 1882 requirements on Aug. 31 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. (PT), which will review the requirements of Policy Intent Notice 75.
HCAI encourages hospitals with questions about these requirements to contact its Seismic Compliance Unit at seismiccomplianceunit@hcai.ca.gov.
