Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. A hospital that wishes to be designated as
a CAH is required to submit an application to the BPCRH. Application forms may
be requested and submitted by interested hospitals at any time following HCFA
approval of the state's Rural Health Care Plan and application.
B. On receipt of an application, the BPCRH
will conduct a review to determining the eligibility of the applicant hospital
for conversion and consistency with the criteria for designation detailed in
§7603
C. The supporting information
to be included with the application is:
1.
documentation of ownership, including names of owners and percent of
ownership;
2. board resolution to
seek CAH certification;
3.
documentation of Medicare participation;
4. notification from BPCRH that location is
in a HPSA or MUA;
5. affirmation
that 24-hour emergency medical care services and medical control agreements are
available including information on staffing arrangements;
6. documentation that facility meets rural
hospital staffing requirements with the following exceptions:
a. the facility need not meet hospital
standards regarding the number of hours per day or days of the week in which it
must be open and fully staffed, except as required to make emergency medical
care services available and to have nursing staff present if an inpatient is in
the facility;
b. the facility may
provide the services of a dietician, pharmacist, laboratory technician, medical
technologist, and/or radiological technologist on a part-time, off site basis;
and
c. inpatient care may be
provided by a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse
specialist, subject to the oversight of a physician who need not be present in
the facility but immediately available in accordance with state requirements
for scope of practice;
7. copy of a needs assessment, if
available;
8. copy of a strategic
plan for conversion;
9. copy of
financial feasibility assessment.
D. Decision. If an application is complete,
and all supporting documentation provided, the BPCRH will provide written
notice to the applicant hospital.
1. If the
application and required documentation supports conversion to a MRHF, after the
effective date of the published rule, the BPCRH will provide a written notice
of the designation to the applicant hospital and HSS.
2. If the application is incomplete or
otherwise insufficient to allow designation, the BPCRH will provide written
notice to the applicant outlining the actions necessary to correct the
deficiencies. The hospital may then address the deficiencies and resubmit its
application.
E. Once
designated, a hospital may apply to the Bureau of Health Services Financing,
Health Standards Section (HSS) of the Department of Health and Hospitals for an
onsite survey.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L.
105-33) and Title XVIII of the Social Security
Act; amended by Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Balance Budget Refinement Act of
1999.
