131E-77. Licensure requirement.

(a) No person or governmental unit shall establish or operate a hospital in this state without a license. An infirmary is not required to obtain a license under this Part.

(b) The Commission shall prescribe by rule that any licensee or prospective applicant seeking to make specified types of alteration or addition to its facilities or to construct new facilities shall submit plans and specifications before commencement to the Department for preliminary inspection and approval or recommendations with respect to compliance with the applicable rules under this Part.

(c) An applicant for licensing under this Part shall provide information related to hospital operations as requested by the Department. The required information shall be submitted by the applicant on forms provided by the Department and established by rule.

(d) Upon receipt of an application for a license, the Department shall issue a license if it finds that the applicant complies with the provisions of this Article and the rules of the Commission. The Department shall renew each license in accordance with the rules of the Commission. The Department shall charge the applicant a nonrefundable annual base license fee plus a nonrefundable annual per-bed fee as follows:

(e) The Department shall issue the license to the operator of the hospital who shall not transfer or assign it except with the written approval of the Department. The license shall designate the number and types of inpatient beds, the number of operating rooms, and the number of gastrointestinal endoscopy rooms.

(e1) Any license issued by the Department shall include only facilities (i) operated by the hospital within a single county and (ii) operated by the hospital in an immediately adjoining county; provided, however, that facilities operated by a hospital in an immediately adjoining county shall only be included within the same hospital license if the applicant hospital demonstrates all of the following to the satisfaction of the Department:

(1) There was previously only one hospital licensed by the Department providing inpatient services in the immediately adjoining county.

(2) The licensed hospital in the immediately adjoining county described in subdivision (1) of this subsection closed or otherwise ceased providing hospital services to patients no more than three years prior to the date the applicant hospital first applied to license a facility in such immediately adjoining county.

If the Department approves a hospital's initial request to include within its hospital license a facility in an immediately adjoining county, then any other hospital services thereafter developed and operated by the applicant in such immediately adjoining county in accordance with applicable law may also be included within and covered by the license issued to the applicant by the Department.

(f) The operator shall post the license on the licensed premises in an area accessible to the public.