St. John’s Hospital to Be Retrofitted
St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital will soon be able to withstand an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.2.
The oldest sections of the Camarillo hospital, which were built in 1974, will be retrofitted over the next two years.
Hospital officials are still in the planning phase of the project but expect reconstruction to begin within the next six months.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the hospital for 90% of its costs. Officials estimate the project will cost a minimum of $10 million.
The FEMA reimbursement is limited to projects in the oldest portion of the building, said Jean M. Jensen, the hospital’s vice president administrator.
“One of the reasons FEMA is earmarking funds directed at hospitals is that FEMA recognizes that in future earthquakes, the buildings we need to have standing are hospitals,” Jensen said. “The benefit of any inconvenience we incur during the project is the benefit of a safer building in the event of an earthquake.”
The magnitude of the project mandates that reconstruction be done in phases, with departments relocating to other sections of the hospital during the work in progress.
“But the plan is that the hospital will continue to operate and patients will continue to receive care with a minimum of inconvenience,” Jensen said.
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