vs. ) CASE NO. 78-655
Respondent. )
Pursuant to notice, the Division of Administrative Hearings, by its duly designated Hearing Officer, K. N. Ayers, held a public hearing in the above styled case on June 1, 1978 at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
For Petitioner: Douglas G. Kaplan, Esquire
District Counsel, HRS, District X 800 West Oakland Park Boulevard Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33311
By Petition filed 29 March 1978 High Ridge Management Corp., Petitioner, seeks a hearing on the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services', Respondent, refusal to authorize Petitioner to reconvert 16 beds currently authorized for use as nursing home beds into psychiatric beds without first obtaining a certificate of need. At the hearing the parties stipulated to the facts of the case and no testimony was presented. From the stipulated facts the following is submitted.
High Ridge Management Corp., Petitioner, owns and operates two institutions, the Hollywood Pavilion, a psychiatric hospital, and the Hollywood Hills Nursing Home, which are in contiguous buildings on the same block in Hollywood, Florida.
The Hollywood Hills Nursing Home has operated under the management of Petitioner since 1963. Hollywood Pavilion was licensed by Respondent on July 1, 1973 to operate 85 beds as a psychiatric hospital. The property on which the Pavilion sits was acquired by Petitioner prior to July 1, 1973.
In 1974 Petitioner requested authority from Respondent to convert 39 beds at the Pavilion from psychiatric use to nursing home use. Permission was
granted and the licenses were amended accordingly. At this time no certificate of need was required for such conversion.
In 1977 Petitioner determined that it could better operate the two institutions if 16 beds at the Pavilion were converted back to psychiatric use and requested permission from Respondent to so reconvert 16 beds now licensed for nursing home usage.
Based upon the above facts Respondent advised Petitioner that it would have to apply for and obtain a certificate of need before the requested conversion could be granted and Petitioner requested this hearing to contest this determination.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties and issues here involved.
Statutory requirements pertaining to certificates of need are contained in Section 381.493 et seq., Florida Statutes.
Section 381.493(3), Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part:
"Health-care facility" means a hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate-care facility, ambulatory surgical center, or freestanding hemodialysis center.
"Certificate of need" means a written statement issued by the department evidencing community need for a new, converted, expanded, or otherwise significantly modified
health-care facility or health service.
Section 381.494, Florida Statutes, provides in pertinent part:
(1) APPLICATION.- All health-care facilities, health maintenance organizations, and health services proposed to be offered or developed as described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), or
shall be subject to review under this Act and shall, accordingly, be subject to the filing of an Application for a Certificate of Need. Such offering or development includes:
In the case of health-care facilities or health maintenance organization:
The addition of beds by new construction or alteration of existing facilities.
5. An increase in licensed bed capacity.
Section 381.495 provides in pertinent part:
(1) In the exercise of its authority to issue licenses to health-care facilities and health service providers, as provided under Chapter
395 and 400, the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services shall duly consider
the certificate of need required by ss. 381.493-381.497 and shall not issue a license to any health-care facility, health service provider, or part of a health-care facility which fails to receive a certificate of need.
Finally, Section 381.497 makes the preceding provisions inapplicable to certain projects by providing:
Sections 381.493-381.495 shall not affect any health-care facility or health maintenance organization for which land has been acquired and preliminary construction plans have been prepared and filed with the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services prior to July 1, 1973, or any ambulatory Surgical center constructed or in operation by January 1, 1976.
Although certain minor changes have been made to Sections 381.493-
381.497 subsequent to the initial enactment in 1972, none of these changes affect the certificate of need requirements of one in the position of the Petitioner herein.
Petitioner takes she position that by virtue of its original authorization, when licensed on July 1, 1973 for 85 beds as a psychiatric hospital, Section 381.497 exempts it from the certificate of need requirements for any number of beds up to the originally authorized 85 beds at the psychiatric facility.
Respondent, on the other hand, has taken the position that when Petitioner's license was changed in 1974 to authorize 46 psychiatric beds and 39 nursing beds at the psychiatric hospital, any subsequent change to the authorized number of beds can be accomplished only pursuant to the filing of an application for a certificate of need.
Petitioner's position is founded upon the exemptions provided in Section 381.497 for those facilities for which plans and specifications were on file prior to July 1, 1973. If this position is correct it would appear that all health-care facilities in operation and licensed on July 1, 1973 would henceforth be exempt from the provisions of the Act and would not have to apply for a certificate of need to increase their bed capacity. Petitioner does not make this contention, which obviously would be in derogation of the Act, but takes the modified position that, since it was originally licensed in 1973 for
85 beds at Hollywood Pavilion, it is exempt by Section 381.497 from applying for a certificate of need for any increase in the number of licensed beds up to 85.
The primary guide to statutory interpretation is to determine the purpose of the legislature. 30 FLA JUR 77 STATUTES. In the construction of any statute, it is always the duty of the court to give effect to the legislative intent when it is ascertainable. Re Estate of Williams, 182 So.2d 10 (FLA 1965); Gracie v. Deming, 2137 2d 294 (FLA 2 DCA 1968). The legislative intent in the Health Facilities and Health Services Planning Act is expressed in Section 381.493(2) as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature to stimulate the establishment and continuous reevaluation of community-oriented health goals by providers, consumers, and public agencies; to assist in the rational examination of alternate methods of achieving those goals; and to aid in their achievement through the most effective means possible within the limits of available resources. It is imperative to plan the rendering of health services in order to meet and provide for community health needs in a responsible and effective manner, and this planning by the community must be assisted by a state health planning agency which is intended to coordinate the activities of all health planning agencies. It is the intent of the Legislature to invest the state health planning agency with the role of provider of information, consultant, stimulator, and advisor to all health-care institutions, health-service providers, and consumers. It is intended that the agency-work closely with health-care facilities and health service providers in developing a planning process to define service needs in specific geographic areas and assist health-care facilities and health service providers in those areas to develop programs of service that will assure the best possible service to the community.
It is also intended that the agency work with the community to find and define areas of need and to consider available alternatives to meet the needs. Every consideration shall be given to the elimination of unnecessary duplication of health services and the provision of health services not currently available or insufficiently provided within the community. It is further intended that health-care facilities and certain health service providers shall not change the scope of those services without the approval and authorization of the state health-planning agency. (E.S.)
Where legislative intent as evidenced by statute is plain and unambiguous, there is no necessity for any construction or interpretation of the statute, and courts need only give effect to the plain meaning of its terms. State v. Egan, 287 So.2d 1, Florida 1973).
Here the legislative intent as clearly expressed in the statutes is to require the issuance of a certificate of need evidencing approval and authorization by the state health-planning agency for any change in the scope of services by health care facilities. Increasing the number of psychiatric beds is such a change and perforce requires the issuance of certificate of need. Furthermore this would constitute an increase in licensed bed capacity and
Section 381.493(1)(a)5, Florida Statutes, above quoted, specifically includes this change as one requiring the issuance of a certificate of need.
Construing the exemption provisions of Section 381.497 as suggested by Petitioner would exempt all health care facilities in existence on July 1, 1973 from the provisions of the Act and this is contrary to the expressly stated provisions of the Act.
From the foregoing it is concluded that in order to increase the authorized psychiatric beds at Hollywood Pavilion by 16 the Petitioner must apply for and obtain a certificate of need. The exemption provisions of Section
381.497 apply only to unlicensed health care facilities for which plans were submitted prior to July 1, 1973. This provision is intended to protect one who has expended funds and efforts towards the establishment of a health-care facility prior to July 1, 1973 from a denial of a certificate of need under the new statutory provisions. It is not intended to give existing health-care facilities carte blanche to change the scope of the services provided. It is therefore
RECOMMENDED that the Petition of High Ridge Management Corp., to have the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services process its application to reconvert 16 beds at Hollywood Pavilion Psychiatric hospital to licensed beds without the necessity of obtaining a certificate of need, be denied.
DONE and ENTERED this 21st day of June, 1978.
K. N. AYERS, Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings Room 530, Carlton Building Tallahassee, Florida 32304
Douglas G. Kaplan, Esquire 1915 Harrison Street
District Counsel, HRS, District X 800 West Oakland Park Boulevard Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33311
