KAISER PERMANENTE: To Build New Hospital In Fontana
Kaiser Permanente will build a new hospital "in Fontana to meet earthquake-safety standards because the existing hospital is not suitable for upgrading," the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. Kaiser's existing 429-bed hospital in Fontana "does not meet state seismic-safety standards established after the 1994 Northridge earthquake." As of 1994, California law "requires seismically unsafe hospitals to be retrofitted, rebuilt or removed from in-patient use by 2008." The Fontana hospital -- "the oldest of Kaiser's 10 Southern California facilities" -- was constructed 55 years ago. It houses "more than 5,000 employees serving more than 300,000 members." Kaiser spokesperson Chela Lenahan "said it is too early to tell how long it will take for Kaiser to develop plans and cost projections for the new hospital." In addition, she said that the new facility's "[l]ocation, design, cost and construction schedule" are unknown at this time (4/5).
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