HCAI webinar details process, deadlines for removing hospital buildings from general acute care

Ollie Sumer, supervisor for the Seismic Compliance Unit at the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), told a statewide webinar that hospital owners who plan to remove a building from general acute care service must file a letter of intent and follow a defined code and review process.

The move to an OSHPD 1R designation begins with an owner’s letter of intent stating the building will not provide general acute care beyond the statewide compliance deadline. Sumer said, “First, we need to get a letter of intent that you are thinking to remove, from acute care.” The webinar reiterated two near-term administrative deadlines: seismic compliance plans are due Jan. 1, 2026, and construction documents for an OSHPD 1R conversion must be submitted by March 1, 2026. HCAI said construction for the conversion must be complete by Feb. 1, 2030, unless an owner has an approved AB 869 extension that revises that date for the building’s final construction.

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