This continent is home to at least 12 major seismic faults. California obviously features a large number of them, but many other states, including New York, Nebraska, Utah, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, also have faults running through them. (For more on earthquakes and U.S. fault locations, check out the U.S. Geological Survey).

Why do I bring this up?

To point out that the threat of an earthquake is hardly the worry of only those in California. As facilities nationwide put together, update and implement measures to prevent terrorism and disasters and plans to respond to these events, it's not outlandish for managers to consider - if they haven't already - whether their facilities' emergency-preparedness plans should address earthquakes.

That said, the preparation process is apt to be long and arduous. Preparing a structure for the wrath of a hurricane is far less complex and expensive than doing so for an earthquake, something managers with California hospitals know all too well.

A new report from the California HealthCare Foundation reveals that almost one-half of the hospitals that need mandatory retrofits for seismic safety in new and existing buildings will not meet a state-imposed deadline of 2013. Completing mandatory projects might take 30 years and as much as $110 billion.

Why? The roadblocks are all too familiar:

* New buildings are very costly.
* Replacing a single building is difficult.
* Finding funding is a challenge.
* Many hospitals lack staff with the skills for complex construction projects.
* The financial impact of hospital reconstruction is uncertain.

If nothing else, the efforts of California's hospitals to comply with the mandate might offer managers in all types of facilities nationwide some guidance on successfully completing major renovations in the face of such obstacles.

And for managers incorporating earthquake preparedness into their organizations' plans, the process is likely to offer even more important guidance.