Fed assessment: LBJ facility & Infrastructure "is in a state of failure"
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A federal assessment of the LBJ Medical Center, commissioned by the US Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), found that the 50-year-old one-story facility is not in compliance with current seismic and wind requirements; and retrofits would be expensive and disruptive.
Instead of repairing the current facility, the assessment report says ASG prefers a new multi-story hospital at the current LBJ location, with an estimated cost of $750 million to $900 million.
OIA requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Honolulu District office’s assistance in producing a report to the US Congress addressing the condition of LBJ, estimating the cost of renovating and modernizing the current facility, constructing a new facility, and whether a renovated facility will have sufficient capacity to meet American Samoa’s needs.
The assessment is required under provision of the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019. Army Corps carried out the assessment between Apr. 22-24 and the final report released recently provides five options — including costs for policymakers to consider.
Read more: http://www.samoanews.com/local-news/fed-assessment-lbj-facility-infrastructure-it-state-failure