Proposed Text
CHAPTER 20
REGULATIONS FOR DESIGNATING HEALTH PLANNING REGIONS (REPEALED)
Part I
General Information
Article 1
Definitions
12VAC20-20-10. Definitions. (Repealed.)
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
"Department" means the Virginia Department of
Health.
"Health planning region" means a geographic area
of the Commonwealth identified for the purpose of regional health planning in
accordance with this chapter and § 32.1-122.01 et seq. of the Code of Virginia.
"Planning Board" means the Virginia Health
Planning Board.
"Planning district" means a contiguous area
within the boundaries established by the Department of Planning and Budget
pursuant to the Virginia Area Development Act, Chapter 34 (§ 15.1-1400 et seq.)
of Title 15.1 of the Code of Virginia.
"Regional agency" means a regional health
planning agency designated by the Planning Board pursuant to § 32.1-122 et seq.
of the Code of Virginia to perform health planning activities within a health
planning region.
"Tertiary care" means tertiary care as defined in
§ 32.1-122.01 of the Code of Virginia; namely, health care delivered by
facilities that provide specialty acute care including, but not limited to,
trauma care, neonatal intensive care and cardiac services.
Article 2
Background and Authority
12VAC20-20-20. Background. (Repealed.)
The Planning Board was created in 1989 to supervise and
provide leadership for the statewide health planning system; to provide
technical expertise in the development of state health policy; to receive data
and information from the regional agencies and consider regional planning
interests in its deliberations; to review and assess critical health care
issues; and to make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human
Resources of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Governor, and the General
Assembly concerning health policy, legislation, and resource allocation. The
department provides principal staff and administrative support services to the
Planning Board.
12VAC20-20-30. Authority. (Repealed.)
In addition to its general duties and responsibilities, the
Planning Board is required by § 32.1-122.02 C of the Code of Virginia to
promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of, Article
4.1 (§ 32.1-122.01 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia
including, but not limited to, the designation of health planning regions.
Part II
Required Characteristics of the Health Planning Regions
Article 1
Topography
12VAC20-20-40. Coverage. (Repealed.)
Each area of Virginia shall be included in a health planning
region; no area of Virginia shall be included in more than one health planning
region. A health planning region shall not include any area outside Virginia,
but cooperation is encouraged with regional agencies concerned with health
planning in contiguous states.
12VAC20-20-50. Congruence with planning districts. (Repealed.)
Each health planning region shall consist of one or more
planning districts, and shall not contain any part of a planning district
unless it also contains all other parts of that planning district.
12VAC20-20-60. Contiguous and compact geographic area. (Repealed.)
If a health planning region consists of more than one
planning district, those planning districts shall be interconnected and shall
not as a group substantially surround any planning district that is not part of
that health planning region.
Article 2
Demographics
12VAC20-20-70. Resident population. (Repealed.)
Each health planning region shall contain a resident
population of at least 500,000 persons according to the most current official
state estimates as of the time of its designation.
12VAC20-20-80. Medical care resources. (Repealed.)
A. As of the time of its designation, each health planning
region shall have available within its boundaries multiple levels of medical care
services and shall be characterized by reasonable travel time for tertiary
care.
B. Unless necessitated by other requirements of this
chapter, a health planning region shall not include a planning district whose
residents predominantly rely upon the medical care resources of a neighboring
health planning region. Evidence of such reliance shall exist if the most
recent hospital patient origin survey data acceptable to the department show
that, among all residents of the planning district discharged from acute
inpatient care units located in Virginia, more than 50% were discharged from
units located in the neighboring health planning region.
Part III
Designation of Health Planning Regions
12VAC20-20-90. Initial regions. (Repealed.)
Until otherwise designated by the Planning Board, the
health planning regions shall be the five geographic regions designated by the
department for purposes of administering community health services as follows:
The Northwestern Virginia Health Planning Region shall
consist of Planning District 6 (Central Shenandoah), Planning District 7 (Lord
Fairfax), Planning District 9 (Rappahannock-Rapidan), Planning District 10
(Thomas Jefferson), and Planning District 16 (RADCO); the Northern Virginia
Health Planning Region shall consist of Planning District 8 (Northern
Virginia).
The Southwest Virginia Health Planning Region shall consist
of Planning District 1 (LENOWISCO), Planning District 2 (Cumberland Plateau),
Planning District 3 (Mount Rogers), Planning District 4 (New River Valley),
Planning District 5 (Fifth), Planning District 11 (Central Virginia), and
Planning District 12 (West Piedmont).
The Central Virginia Health Planning Region shall consist
of Planning District 13 (Southside), Planning District 14 (Piedmont), Planning
District 15 (Richmond Regional), and Planning District 19 (Crater).
The Eastern Virginia Health Planning Region shall consist
of Planning District 17 (Northern Neck), Planning District 18 (Middle
Peninsula), Planning District 20 (Southeastern Virginia), Planning District 21
(Peninsula), and Planning District 22 (Accomack-Northampton).
12VAC20-20-100. Documentation of basis for change. (Repealed.)
Any request for a change in health planning region
designations shall be directed to the Planning Board and shall be accompanied
by appropriate documentation of the rationale for that request including, but
not limited to, a comparison of the existing designations and the proposed
designations with respect to Part II of this chapter. The requester shall
simultaneously provide a copy of the request, including all accompanying
documentation, to the department and to each regional agency. The department
shall advise the Planning Board regarding the adequacy of such documentation
and may offer additional information to assist the Planning Board in its evaluation
of the request. Before rendering its decision the Planning Board shall afford
each regional agency and other interested parties at least 60 calendar days to
comment on the request.
12VAC20-20-110. Implementation of change. (Repealed.)
Upon its decision to change the health planning region
designations, the Planning Board shall so notify each affected regional agency
and the administrative office of each affected county and independent city of
the nature and effective date of the change, and shall also arrange for such
notice to be published in the Virginia Register at least 60 days prior to the
effective date.