NORTH RIDGE GENERAL HOSPITAL, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
NME HOSPITALS, INC., D/B/A DELRAY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL AND FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, APPELLEES
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North Ridge General Hospital challenged HRS's issuance of a certificate of need to Delray Community Hospital for cardiac services in Palm Beach County. The court affirmed the decision, holding that North Ridge lacked standing because its injury was purely economic competition, which the certificate of need statute was not designed to protect.
North Ridge lacked standing because its only demonstrated interest was future economic harm from competition, which falls outside the zone of interest the certificate of need statute was designed to protect. HRS properly issued the certificate because the statute requires balanced consideration of all relevant criteria on a case-by-case basis, not rigid application of utilization thresholds.
[1] To demonstrate standing, a party must prove injury in fact of sufficient immediacy and that the injury is of a type the proceeding is designed to protect (the "zone of in…
[2] Competitive economic injury alone is not a sufficient basis to establish standing in proceedings for certificates of need under Chapter 381, Florida Statutes.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“To demonstrate standing, a party must prove (1) injury in fact of sufficient immediacy, and (2) the injury is of a type the proceeding is designed to protect, commonly referred to as the "zone of interest" test.”
Establishes the two-part standing test applied throughout the case
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDelray Community Hospital applied for a certificate of need to provide open heart surgery and cardiac catheterization services in Palm Beach County. N…
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MILLS, Judge.
This is an appeal by North Ridge General Hospital (North Ridge) from a final order by Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) granting the application of Delray Community Hospital (Del-ray) for a certificate of need (CON) to provide an open heart surgery program and to establish a cardiac catheterization lab in Palm Beach County, HRS District IX. North Ridge argues that the hearing officer and HRS erred in concluding that it failed to prove standing to contest Delray’s application and in determining that Delray is entitled to the CON. We disagree and affirm.
To demonstrate standing, a party must prove (1) injury in fact of sufficient immediacy, and (2) the injury is of a type the proceeding is designed to protect, commonly referred to as the “zone of interest” test. Agrico Chemical Company v. Department of Environmental Regulation, 406 So. 2d 478, 482 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). In Humana, Inc. v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 469 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), this court concluded that the figures utilized by HRS, in the rule regulating the present case, were not designed to protect existing industry from competition. That being the situation, there is no statutory authority for making competitive economic injury a concern in the issuance of certificates under Chapter 381, Florida Statutes (1983). See, Shared Services, Inc. v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 426 So. 2d 56 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983).
Therefore, inasmuch as we find the only “substantial interest” demonstrated by North Ridge is that of future adverse economic impact, the hospital does not fall within the zone of interest the statute was designed to protect, and consequently does not have standing. This conclusion is further buttressed by the fact that North Ridge is not an “affected person” under Section 10-5.02(2), Fla.Admin. Code, as discussed in the case of Community Psychiatric Centers, Inc. v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 474 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).
Rules 10-5.11(15) and (16), Fla.Admin. Code, provide the Criteria against which CON applications for cardiac cath labs and open heart surgery programs are evaluated. These rules provide that HRS “will not normally” approve of such applications in any service area unless the respective criteria relating to need determination and current utilization of services are satisfied. The principle thrust of North Ridge’s argument focuses on subpart (O) of Rule 10-5.-11(15), and subpart (K) of Rule 10-5.11(16). These sections address the requirement that certain levels of utilization among existing and approved facilities be met prior to approval of any new applications. North Ridge contends these provisions should be read to foreclose HRS from issuing any certificates in the two proposed services.
To the contrary, the legislative purpose behind the certificate of need law is to provide for a balanced consideration of all relevant criteria. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Johnson & Johnson Home Health Care, Inc., 447 So. 2d 361 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). As this court stated in Collier Medical Center, Inc. v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 462 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), the appropriate weight to be given to each individual criterion contained in the statute regarding CON applications is not fixed, but rather must vary on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts in each case. We have examined the remaining points urged by North Ridge regarding satisfaction of .the CON. rule criteria and find them to be without merit.
Accordingly, we affirm the issuance of the certificates to Delray.
SMITH and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
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Fla. Med. Ctr. v. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 484 So. 2d 1292 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…ive Services, 10 FLW 1976 (Fla. 1st DCA August 20, 1985); Community Psychiatric Centers, Inc. v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 474 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Compare North Ridge General Hospital, Inc. v. NME Hospitals, Inc., 478 So. 2d 1138 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) (applicant did not have standing because it did not demonstrate that it was an affected person under Florida Administrative Code Rule 10-5.01(20), defining affected persons as health care facilities located in the health service…
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Amisub (North Ridge Gen. Hosp. v. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 577 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…d in the same [service district] in which the service is proposed to be offered or delivered.” See, e.g., Community Psychiatric Centers, Inc. v. HRS, 474 So. 2d 870, 872 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); North Ridge General Hospital, Inc. v. NME Hospitals, Inc., 478 So. 2d 1138, 1139 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Further, an administrative agency is afforded wide discretion in interpreting statutes which it administers. The agency’s statutory construction is entitled to great weight, and is not to be overturned on appeal unless cl…
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Sullivan v. Nw. Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist., 490 So. 2d 140 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…seek a section 120.57 hearing (1) if confronted with injury in fact of sufficient immediacy and (2) the injury is of the type or nature that the particular proceeding is designed to protect. North Ridge General Hospital, Inc. v. NME Hospitals, Inc., 478 So. 2d 1138 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Essentially, however, DER found the appellants lacked standing because, given their current degree of impaired accessibility to navigable waters, they failed to allege a sufficient injury in fact. That result ignores the potenti…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Agrico Chem. Co. v. Dep't OF Env't Reg., 406 So. 2d 478 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. Johnson & Johnson Home Health Care, Inc., 447 So. 2d 361 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Collier Med. Ctr., Inc. v. State, 462 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
- Shared Servs., Inc. v. State of Fla. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 426 So. 2d 56 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
- Humana, Inc. v. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 469 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)
- Cmty. Psychiatric Ctrs., Inc. v. Dep't OF Health & Rehabilitative Servs. & Psychiatric Insts. of Am., Inc., 474 So. 2d 870 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)