Volume 42 - Issue 37 - September 14, 2023
State of Kansas
Department of Health and Environment
Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulations
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), Division of Public Health, Bureau of Facilities and Licensing, will conduct a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 14, 2023, in Room 530, Curtis State Office Building, 1000 SW Jackson, Topeka, Kansas, to consider the adoption of proposed new KDHE Article 34 permanent regulations 28-34-145, 28-34-146, 28-34-147, 28-34-148, 28-34-149, 28-34-150, 28-34-151, and 28-34-152 regarding rural emergency hospitals. These regulations are being proposed as temporary regulations and as permanent regulations.
A summary of the proposed regulations and estimated economic impact follows:
Summary of Regulations
K.A.R. 28-34-145. Definitions. Defines the meaning of terms as used in K.A.R. 28-34-145 through 28-34-152.
K.A.R. 28-34-146. Application process. Requires any person wanting to operate a rural emergency hospital to meet the eligibility requirements of K.S.A. 65-484 and to file an application on a licensing agency form at least 90 days before admission of patients; specifies the information each applicant for a rural emergency hospital shall submit to the licensing agency during the application process; provides that the secretary may deny granting of a license to any applicant if the applicant is not in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
K.A.R. 28-34-147. Licensing procedure; renewals. Specifies the timeframe, application form requirements, and provisions for licensing and licensing renewals; requires that new construction, alterations, or renovations for patient services or patient rooms shall not be used until authorized by the licensing agency; requires a rural emergency hospital found to be non-compliant to submit a plan of correction with specific corrective actions before a license is issued or renewed; outlines accrediting survey requirements; specifies the ways the licensing agency verifies rural emergency hospital compliance with requirements specified in K.A.R. 28-34-146 through 28-34-152; provides for multiple licensure type situations.
K.A.R. 28-34-148. Terms of a license; amendments. Specifies the terms of a rural emergency hospital license, including effective period, physical location, and issuance and invalidity of new, amended, or renewed licenses; sets forth the criteria under which a licensee shall submit a request to the licensing agency for an amended license; specifies that a licensee of a rural emergency hospital who also holds a license for a general hospital or critical access hospital shall ensure that an amended rural emergency hospital license does not affect the license for a general hospital or a critical hospital.
K.A.R. 28-34-149. Rural emergency hospital services. Requires that each rural emergency hospital provide only services pursuant to K.S.A. 65-483, and amendments thereto.
K.A.R. 28-34-150. Conditions of participation. Adopts by reference specified sections, deletes specified sections, and replaces specified text in 42 C.F.R., part 485, effective January 1, 2023, regarding conditions of participation as a rural emergency hospital.
K.A.R. 28-34-151. Construction standards. Requires that rural emergency hospital construction of new buildings and additions or alterations to existing buildings be in accordance with K.A.R. 28-34-32b.
K.A.R. 28-34-152. Laboratory services. Specifies that a rural emergency hospital provide laboratory services in accordance with K.A.R. 28-34-11.
Economic Impact
Cost to the agency: The proposed regulations may result in minimal increased paperwork costs that can be absorbed in the current agency budget.
Cost to the public and regulated community: Each hospital will have to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the costs of restructuring their current facility from a Critical Access Hospital to comply with Rural Emergency Hospital licensure requirements. Therefore, it would be difficult for the agency to quantify costs to hospitals seeking to become a Rural Emergency Hospital. Because of the difficulty in quantifying costs to hospitals, the agency cannot quantify the costs to affected businesses or members of the public.
Costs to other governmental agencies or units: Because of the difficulty in quantifying costs to hospitals, the agency could not quantify costs to local governments. There are no costs related to the proposed regulations that are reasonably expected to be incurred by any other governmental agencies or units.
A detailed economic impact is provided in the economic impact statement that is available from the designated KDHE contact staff person or at the Bureau of Facilities and Licensing website, as listed below.
The time period between the publication of this notice and the scheduled hearing constitutes a 60-day public comment period for the purpose of receiving written public comments on the proposed regulations. All interested parties may submit written comments prior to 5:00 p.m. on the day of the hearing to Gerald Smith, Director, Bureau of Facilities and Licensing, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Curtis State Office Bldg., 1000 SW Jackson, Suite 330, Topeka, KS 66612 or by email to Gerald.Smith@ks.gov. Interested parties are encouraged to participate in the public hearing by submitting written comments.
During the hearing, all interested parties will be given a reasonable opportunity to present their views orally on the proposed regulations as well as an opportunity to submit their written comments. It is requested that each individual giving oral comments also provide a written copy of the comments for the record. In order to give each individual an opportunity to present their views, it may be necessary for the hearing officer to request that each presenter limit an oral presentation to an appropriate time frame.
Complete copies of the proposed regulations and the corresponding economic impact statement may be obtained from the Bureau of Facilities and Licensing website at https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/449/Facilities-Licensing or by contacting Gerald Smith at Gerald.Smith@ks.gov or phone 785-296-5616. Questions pertaining to the proposed regulations should be directed to Gerald Smith at the contact information above.
Any individual with a disability may request accommodation in order to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulations and the economic impact statement in an accessible format. Requests for accommodation to participate in the hearing should be made at least five working days in advance of the hearing by contacting Gerald Smith.
Janet Stanek
Secretary
Department of Health and Environment
Doc. No. 051472
