SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 9, 2009 – Accela, Inc. today announced that the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) has selected Accela Automation software as the nexus of a comprehensive online environment that will track hospital and skilled nursing facility construction projects across the state. OSHPD’s Facilities Development Division (FDD) will utilize Accela solutions to replace an existing database system, which is used to track health-facility plan review and construction; facilitate inspections and certifications; and ensure compliance with state-mandated seismic safety standards.
When the new Web-based system goes live in the summer of 2010, it will allow more effective coordination between all FDD functional areas. Accela Automation will also enhance FDD’s existing e-Services Portal, providing healthcare facility management with up-to-the-minute access on the status of their projects.
Current FDD projects under plan review or in construction are valued at more than $20 billion, making it one of the largest building departments in the State of California. FDD’s most critical service is to ensure that California healthcare facilities are built to remain structurally sound through their expected lifecycle. This includes a statewide seismic retrofitting push currently underway in conjunction with the California Office of Emergency Services. Workloads for FDD inspectors have expanded significantly in recent years due to California Senate Bill 1953, which requires that hospitals considered at risk of collapse in an earthquake be replaced or retrofitted to higher seismic safety standards by 2013, or later with an approved extension. Non-compliant facilities will be unable to offer healthcare services.
To help support its broad mandate, FFD will use the Accela Land Management™ module of Accela Automation, which allows government agencies to automate the hundreds of steps involved in completing a permit – including initial application, plan reviews, fee calculation and collection, inspections/investigations, and sign-offs. FDD also will realize the benefits of:
“OSHPD exemplifies the kind of government agency that is looking to the future and examining better ways to fulfill its vital public-safety mandate,” said Maury Blackman, CEO and President of Accela. “Public-works and code-enforcement activities directly impact and protect citizens. Therefore, it’s critical that agencies select technologies which automate their business processes, streamline their databases, and improve communication between agency teams and the public they serve. We applaud OSHPD’s visionary approach.”
OSHPD is chartered with promoting healthcare accessibility by analyzing California’s healthcare infrastructure, promoting a diverse and competent healthcare workforce, providing information about healthcare outcomes, assuring the safety of buildings used in providing healthcare, insuring loans to encourage the development of healthcare facilities, and facilitating development of sustained capacity for communities to address local healthcare issues. FDD enforces building standards, per the California Building Standards Code, as they relate to health facilities construction. Additional information can be found at www.oshpd.ca.gov/FDD.
Gabe Graham
Accela
ggraham@accela.com
