Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has released the results of the 2016 bed need determination for Ohio nursing facilities.  The fiscal year 2010 Ohio budget (House Bill 1) included a provision to allow the inter-county movement of beds between counties in need of beds and counties with excess beds. Certificate of Need (CON) applications to move beds between counties under this section of the Ohio Revised Code (3702.593) must be filed in July 2016. For your convenience, HW&Co. has created this map of the results so you can see at a glance which counties have bed need and bed excess. The detailed results by county and instructions are available on the ODH website.

Based upon the bed need formula, 7 counties have a bed need totaling 1,207 beds:  Clermont 369; Portage 280; Fairfield 259; Geauga 135; Paulding 105; Pickaway 44 and Athens 15. There were 21 counties with 7,996 excess beds available for relocation.  Another 24 counties have a projected 3,438 bed shortage, but were below the required 85% occupancy in 2014 to allow for relocation of beds.  There were 35 counties with a bed excess below 100; therefore, no beds are available for relocation as the ORC requires counties with an excess to keep at least 100 of the excess beds.   There was one county with an equal bed supply and bed need.

During the last round of inter-county bed relocation in 2012, there were 20 counties with a bed need totaling 2,968.  CONs were filed to move only 691 beds into 8 counties. The next bed need determination will be in 2020.  Although the opportunities for bed movement are more limited this round, they still exist in the correct circumstances.  Due to the restricted movement of beds to certain counties, there may be an increase in objections to filed applications. Therefore, it is more important than ever to obtain legal and accounting advice prior to considering adding beds or building a new facility. Contact an HW Healthcare Advisor if you need assistance.