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VA Hospital Facilities to Undergo Seismic
Assessment
The National Institute of
Building Sciences is helping the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to perform a
seismic assessment of 50 hospital buildings located in areas of high and very
high seismicity. California’s Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD) performed a similar assessment of its hospital program using
the HAZUS-MH methodology, which was a success. The VA’s primary goals for its
seismic assessment project are to:
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Determine collapse
probability as an indicator of life safety or casualties in VA facilities.
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Determine the level
of structural and nonstructural damage as an indicator of the potential
level of post-earthquake facility operation. Theoretically, this should
entail continuous operation of all systems (e.g., emergency power and
operating rooms).
The Institute is currently in Phase 1 of the 12-month,
two-phase project. Phase 1 is an eight-month effort that involves the
development of the evaluation approach and methods. At the end of month five,
Phase 2, the evaluation execution phase, will begin, which will last for seven
months. Each project phase will involve:
- An Oversight Committee to
monitor subcontractor efforts and evaluate the project deliverables. The
Oversight Committee consists of William Holmes of Rutherford and Chekene;
John Gillengerten of John D. Gillengerten, Consulting Structural Engineer;
and William Graf of URS.
- Two subcontractors engaged
by the Institute to assist in the project. The subcontractors are Charles
Kircher of Charles Kircher & Associates, and James Malley of Degenkolb
Engineers.
On December 1, VA
representatives, Institute staff, the Oversight Committee, and
subcontractors met in Washington, D.C., to discuss the Phase 1 evaluation
approach and methods, including a risk calculation tool based on HAZUS-MH and
supporting data for building parameters and ground motion hazard data.
Phase 2, to be conducted in the coming year, will result in
a report that summarizes project findings including the fragility curves used,
estimates of potential losses to the 50 selected buildings using the risk
calculation tool, and a discussion of data trends.
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