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REGULATIONS FOR DESIGNATING HEALTH PLANNING REGIONS (REPEALED)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 (Repealed.)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 (Repealed.)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 (Repealed.)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.