Title: Section 760.3 - Requirements for approval

760.3 Requirements for approval. (a) The application must be complete and in proper form. It shall provide all the information essential for the Public Health Council's consideration.

(b) The applicant must satisfactorily demonstrate to the council:

(1) that there is a public need for the certified home health agency;

(2) that there are adequate finances and sources of future revenue to properly establish and operate the certified home health agency;

(3) (i) if a not-for-profit corporation, that the controlling persons and sponsors, if any, the members of the board of directors and officers of the corporation are of such character, experience, competence and standing in the community as to give reasonable assurance of their ability to conduct the affairs of the corporation in the best interests of the agency and in the public interest and to provide proper care for those to be served by the certified home health agency;

(ii) if a proprietary business, that the owner, or all the partners of a partnership, are persons of such character, experience, competence and standing in the community as to give reasonable assurance of their ability to conduct the affairs of the business in the best interests of the agency and in the public interest and to provide proper care for those to be served by the certified home health agency;

(iii) if a business corporation, that the controlling persons and sponsors, if any, the members of the board of directors, the officers and the principal stockholders of the corporation or, in the case of an application solely for a change in the principal stockholder(s), that the proposed new principal stockholder(s) of the corporation are of such character, experience, competence and standing in the community as to give reasonable assurance of their ability to conduct the affairs of the corporation in the best interests of the agency and in the public interest and to provide proper care for those to be served by the certified home health agency;

(iv) with respect to any parent corporation or health-related subsidiary corporation, that the directors, sponsors, controlling persons and principal stockholders of any such corporation, insofar as applicable, are of such character, competence and standing in the community as to give reasonable assurance that, to the extent they have or will have the ability through control or influence to direct or cause the direction of the actions, management or policies of the applicant, such control or influence will be exercised in the best interest of the applicant and in the public interest in order to ensure the provision of proper care for those to be served by the certified home health agency;

(v) with respect to an application solely for the acquisition of control of an operator of a certified home health agency by a controlling person or a change of a controlling person, that such new controlling person, insofar as applicable, is of such character, competence and standing in the community as to give reasonable assurance that, to the extent it has or will have the ability to direct or cause the direction of the actions, management or policies of the applicant, such control or influence will be exercised in the best interest of the applicant and in the public interest in order to ensure the provision of proper care for those to be served by the certified home health agency;

(vi) if a public or government agency, that the governing authority of the governmental subdivision applying to operate the agency has provided reasonable assurance of its ability to conduct the affairs of the agency in the best interest of the agency and in the public interest and to provide proper care for those to be served by the certified home health agency.

(c) In conducting a character and competence review, the Public Health Council shall, as applicable, evaluate any parent or health-related subsidiary corporation, the controlling persons, sponsors, members of the board of directors, the officers and principal stockholders, if any, of a corporate applicant, any sole proprietor, all partners in a partnership, or, in the case of a governmental subdivision as the applicant, the governmental subdivision and the governing body thereof as a whole rather than the individual elected or appointed members thereof, by:

(1) reviewing the findings of inspection reports, patient care reviews, complaint investigations and any other pertinent information relating to the operation of any health care, adult care or mental health facility, program or agency located in New York approved to operate by the Department of Health, Department of Social Services or the Department of Mental Hygiene or, if located outside New York, would require the approval to operate by any one of such agencies if located in New York, with which an individual, corporation, other organization, or governmental subdivision has been affiliated as a director, sponsor, controlling person, principal stockholder, sole proprietor, partner or governmental operator; (2) reviewing whether such individual, corporation, other organization or governmental subdivision exercised supervisory responsibility of the facility/agency operation to assure a consistent pattern of compliance with applicable standards and to prevent conditions which could result in harm to the health, safety or welfare of patients/residents;

(3) determining that if a violation of applicable standards did occur, the applicant investigated the circumstances surrounding the violation and took steps appropriate to the gravity of the violation which a reasonably prudent operator would take to promptly correct and to prevent the reoccurrence of the violation; and

(4) considering such other pertinent matters relating to the character, competence and standing in the community of the applicant(s) .

(d) The applicant must supply:

(1) Any additional information requested by the department within 30 days of such request, or must obtain from the department an extension of time in which to provide such information. Any requests for such extension of time shall set forth the reasons why such information could not be obtained within the prescribed time. The granting of such extension of time shall be at the discretion of the commissioner, provided such extensions are not for more than 30 days and the commissioner is satisfied as to the reasons why such information could not be obtained within the prescribed time. The commissioner is authorized to deny a request for an extension of time. Failure to provide such information within the time prescribed shall constitute an abandonment and withdrawal of the application by the applicant.

(2) Any authorization the department requests in order to verify any information contained in the application or to obtain additional information which the department finds is pertinent to the application. Failure to provide such authorization shall constitute an abandonment and withdrawal of the application.