As used in this chapter, the term:
(16.1) “General cancer hospital” means an institution which was an existing and approved destination cancer hospital as of January 1, 2019; has obtained final certificate of need approval for conversion from a destination cancer hospital to a general cancer hospital in accordance with Code Section 31-6-40.3; and offers inpatient and outpatient diagnostic, therapeutic, treatment, and rehabilitative cancer care services or other services to diagnose or treat co-morbid medical conditions or diseases of cancer patients so long as such services do not result in the offering of any new or expanded clinical health service that would require a certificate of need under this chapter unless a certificate of need or letter of determination has been obtained for such new or expanded services.
(23.1) “Life plan community” means an organization, whether operated for profit or not, whose owner or operator undertakes to provide shelter, food, and either nursing care or personal services, whether such nursing care or personal services are provided in the facility or in another setting, and other services, as designated by agreement, to an individual not related by consanguinity or affinity to such owner or operator providing such care pursuant to an agreement for a fixed or variable fee, or for any other remuneration of any type, whether fixed or variable, for the period of care, payable in a lump sum, lump sum and monthly maintenance charges or in installments. Agreements to provide continuing care include agreements to provide care for any duration, including agreements that are terminable by either party.
(23.2) “Micro-hospital” means a hospital in a rural county which has at least two and not more than seven inpatient beds and which provides emergency services seven days per week and 24 hours per day.
(30.1) “Primary campus” means the building at which the majority of a hospital’s or a remote location of a hospital’s licensed and operational inpatient hospital beds are located, and includes the health care facilities of such hospital within 1,000 yards of such building. Any health care facility operated under a hospital’s license prior to July 1, 2019, but not on the hospital’s primary campus shall remain part of such hospital but shall not constitute such hospital’s primary campus unless otherwise meeting the requirements of this paragraph.
(31.1) “Remote location of a hospital” means a hospital facility or organization that is either created by, or acquired by, a hospital that is the main provider for the purpose of furnishing inpatient hospital services under the name, ownership, and financial and administrative control of the main provider.
History. Code 1981, § 31-6-2 , enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 1566, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 31; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1566, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1685, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 31; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1871, §§ 1-5.1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1880, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 296, §§ 3, 4, 22; Ga. L. 2007, p. 173, § 2A/HB 429; Ga. L. 2008, p. 12, § 1-1/SB 433; Ga. L. 2009, p. 8, § 31/SB 46; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 1-8/HB 228; Ga. L. 2018, p. 132, § 4/HB 769; Ga. L. 2019, p. 148, § 1-1/HB 186; Ga. L. 2019, p. 945, § 1/HB 300.
The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, inserted “micro-hospitals,” near the end of paragraph (21); added paragraph (23.1); and substituted “50,000” for “35,000” and “2010” for “2000” in paragraphs (32) and (38).
The 2019 amendments.
The first 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted “finding” for “determination” near the beginning of paragraph (6); in paragraph (8), deleted “, or parts of the physical plant where such services are located in a health care facility,” following “health care facility” near the middle, inserted “(PET)”, substituted “medical-surgical” for “medical/surgical” in the middle, and substituted “open heart” for “open-heart” near the end; substituted the present provisions of paragraph (14) for the former provisions, which read: “ ‘Develop,’ with reference to a project, means:
“(A) Constructing, remodeling, installing, or proceeding with a project, or any part of a project, or a capital expenditure project, the cost estimate for which exceeds $2.5 million; or
“(B) The expenditure or commitment of funds exceeding $1 million for orders, purchases, leases, or acquisitions through other comparable arrangements of major medical equipment; provided, however, that this shall not include build-out costs, as defined by the department, but shall include all functionally related equipment, software, and any warranty and services contract costs for the first five years.
“Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, the expenditure or commitment or incurring an obligation for the expenditure of funds to develop certificate of need applications, studies, reports, schematics, preliminary plans and specifications, or working drawings or to acquire, develop, or prepare sites shall not be considered to be the developing of a project.”; added paragraph (16.1); inserted “freestanding emergency departments or facilities not located on a hospital’s primary campus;” in the middle of paragraph (17); inserted “general cancer hospitals,” near the end of the last sentence of paragraph (21); added paragraphs (30.1) and (31.1); and added “or a general cancer hospital” at the end of the last sentence of paragraph (35). The second 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted “Reserved.” for the former provisions of paragraph (11), which read: “ ‘Continuing care retirement community’ means an organization, whether operated for profit or not, whose owner or operator undertakes to provide shelter, food, and either nursing care or personal services, whether such nursing care or personal services are provided in the facility or in another setting, and other services, as designated by agreement, to an individual not related by consanguinity or affinity to such owner or operator providing such care pursuant to an agreement for a fixed or variable fee, or for any other remuneration of any type, whether fixed or variable, for the period of care, payable in a lump sum or lump sum and monthly maintenance charges or in installments. Agreements to provide continuing care include agreements to provide care for any duration, including agreements that are terminable by either party.”; added paragraph (23.1); and redesignated former paragraph (23.1) as present paragraph (23.2).
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1990, a misspelling of the first occurrence of “services” in paragraph (15) was corrected.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2008, in paragraph (17), a semicolon was deleted at the end, and, in paragraph (23), “a contiguous” was substituted for “an contiguous” in the first sentence.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2008, p. 12, § 3-1/SB 433, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to this Code section shall only apply to applications submitted on or after July 1, 2008.
For application of this statute in 2020 and 2021, see Executive Orders 04.08.20.03, 05.12.20.02, 09.15.20.01, 09.30.20.02, 10.15.20.01, 10.30.20.02, 11.13.20.01, 11.30.20.02, 12.08.20.01, 12.30.20.02, 01.15.21.01, 01.29.21.02, 02.15.21.01, 02.26.21.02, 03.12.21.01, 03.31.21.03, 04.30.21.01, and 05.28.21.02.
A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders.