Georgia Dep't of Community Health, Div. of Health Planning v. Gwinnett Hosp. Sys. Inc.

The provisions of O.C.G.A. § 31-6-2 14, including the 12-month service rule, establish when an institution must apply for a hospital certificate of need, not whether an application is for a "new" or "replacement" facility.

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These four cases involve appeals from two trial courts’ decisions to reverse the grant of a hospital certificate of need CON, which was issued by the Georgia Department of Community Health the Department, Division of Health Planning the Division. Because these cases all involve the same facts, we have consolidated them for review. In November 2000, EHCA, LLC, and two of its affiliates, EHCA Dunwoody, LLC, d/b/a Emory Dunwoody Medical Center and EHCA West Paces, LLC, d/b/a West Paces Medical Center EHCA, completed an application for a certificate of need to build a hospital in Duluth, proposing to “relocate and consolidate” Emory Dunwoody and West Paces hospitals. Three other hospitals intervened and objected to the proposed CON: Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta, Inc., Gwinnett Hospital System, Inc., d/b/a Gwinnett Medical Center, and Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital.1

The CON underwent three levels of administrative review. First, a Division analyst reviewed the application and approved it. The opponents appealed the decision to the State Health Planning Review Board Board, which appointed a hearing officer to conduct a review. After conducting an eight-day hearing and reviewing the voluminous records presented by the parties, the hearing officer issued a 21-page opinion containing 41 findings of fact and affirming the Division’s decision to issue the CON. The opponents again appealed, and the Board affirmed the hearing officer’s decision, concluding that his findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence and that his conclusions of law were correct.

Georgia Dep't of Community Health, Div. of Health Planning v. Gwinnett Hosp. Sys. Inc.

The provisions of O.C.G.A. § 31-6-2 14, including the 12-month service rule, establish when an institution must apply for a hospital certificate of need, not whether an application is for a "new" or "replacement" facility.

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