N.J. Admin. Code § 8:33-3.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 8:33-3.4 - Changes in licensed beds and/or services

(a) The following criteria apply to changes in licensed beds and/or services:

1. Any increase in the number of licensed beds by licensure and/or health planning category requires a certificate of need unless the bed type is specifically exempted from the certificate of need requirement pursuant to P.L. 1992, c.160, as amended by P.L. 1998, c. 43, section 19(N.J.S.A. 26:2H-7a), or otherwise exempted pursuant to this chapter. The certificate of need application shall be subject to the full review process, except as provided for at N.J.A.C. 8:33-5.1a.

2. Any decrease in the number of licensed beds by licensure and/or health planning category shall not require a certificate of need. Conversions of licensed beds to other uses shall be treated as increases in the number of beds by licensure or health planning category and the provisions of (a)1 above shall apply.

3. For services for which there is no specific licensed bed complement, relocation is not permitted, unless the service is otherwise exempt from the certificate of need requirement in accordance with those rules. For services for which there is a specific licensed bed complement, the relocation of a portion of a facility's licensed beds or the entire service from one licensed facility (sending facility) to another (receiving facility) located within the same planning region requires a certificate of need and shall follow the expedited review process, unless the beds or service at issue are otherwise exempt from the certificate of need requirement in accordance with these rules. The application shall be considered pursuant to the following criteria:

i. The relocation shall take place within the same planning region where the sending facility is located;

ii. The receiving facility shall already hold a license for the category of beds proposed for relocation. The Commissioner may, in the case of proposed bed relocations, waive this requirement when the receiving facility is the site of a general hospital proposed or approved for closure in the previous 12 months, if the Commissioner makes a finding that such approval will not reduce quality of care associated with the beds;

iii. The relocation shall not have an adverse impact on the ability of the population currently being served in the sending facility's service area to access the same types of service or bed complement as those proposed for relocation;

iv. The relocation shall not reduce access by the medically underserved and shall address the criteria set forth at N.J.A.C. 8:33-4.10(a);

v. The relocation shall not have an adverse impact on quality of care at either the sending or receiving facility;

vi. All minimum and maximum bed/unit size requirements (for example, six bed pediatric units, 10 bed obstetrics units, 240 bed long-term care facilities) shall be maintained at both the sending and receiving facilities; and

vii. The relocation shall not violate a condition of a prior certificate of need approved for the establishment of the beds or services, unless the applicant presents evidence of substantial changes since imposition of the condition and the Commissioner makes a finding that the evidence warrants removal or modification of the condition.

4. The relocation of a portion of a health care facility's licensed beds or an entire service, whether it has a bed-related component or not, from one licensed facility to another outside the same planning region shall not be permitted.

N.J. Admin. Code § 8:33-3.4

Amended by R.1993 d.442, effective 9/7/1993.
See: 25 N.J.R. 2171(a), 25 N.J.R. 4129(a).
Amended by R.1996 d.101, effective 2/20/1996.
See: 27 N.J.R. 4179(a), 28 N.J.R. 1228(a).
Amended by R.2002 d.243, effective 8/5/2002.
See: 34 N.J.R. 458(a), 34 N.J.R. 2814(a).
Rewrote the section.