Overview

The Certificate of Need (CoN) program is a regulatory process that requires certain health care providers to obtain state approval before building certain types of facilities or offering new or expanded services. Program staff is available to provide technical assistance to you before submitting your application. Staff is also available to help you determine if a Certificate of Need is necessary.

Example: A CoN would be required if a hospital wants to add to the number of its licensed beds.

The CoN process is intended to help ensure that facilities and new services proposed by health care providers are needed for quality patient care within a particular region or community

CoN review is required for:

• Construction, development, or establishment of the following health care facilities:

  • Hospitals

  • Nursing Homes

  • Kidney Dialysis Centers

  • Medicare or Medicaid Home Health Agencies

  • Medicare or Medicaid Hospice Agencies

  • Ambulatory Surgical Centers

  • Hospice Care Centers

• Increases in the number of stations at a kidney dialysis center.

• Sale, purchase, or lease of all or part of an existing hospital, regardless of profit/non-profit status.

• Increases in the number of licensed beds at a hospital, nursing home, or hospice care center.

• Offering a new tertiary health service. These include:

  • Level I Rehabilitation Programs

  • Open Heart Surgery

  • Therapeutic Cardiac Catheterization

  • Organ Transplantation

  • Specialty Burn Services

  • Intermediate Care Nursery and/or Obstetric Services Level II

  • Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery and/or Obstetric Services Level III

  • Specialized Inpatient Pediatric Services
     

• A capital expenditure made by a nursing home exceeding 1 million dollars (adjusted for inflation). The 2012 minimum is set at $2,403,990.

• Nursing home bed banking transactions.

• Nursing home replacements.

Review details are found in Chapter 246-310 WAC Certificate of Need. More information is available from the Certificate of Need program at (360)-236-2955.

Certificate of Need and Construction Review are distinct review and approval processes. Application requirements differ for each review process. Applicants are encouraged to contact the programs early to avoid unexpected delays.