Latest news with #CertificateofNeed
Time Business News
09-07-2025
- Health
- Time Business News
Practical Steps for Launching a Rehab Center Successfully
Every successful rehab center starts with a clearly defined purpose. Are you aiming to provide detox services, residential treatment, intensive outpatient programs (IOP), or all three? Pinpoint your target population—adults, adolescents, veterans, or individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders. From there, define the clinical approach: will you offer evidence-based treatments like CBT or DBT, or integrate holistic methods such as mindfulness and fitness therapy? Establishing a mission statement and selecting a treatment model early shapes the operational framework, guiding future decisions in staffing, programming, and facility design. Establishing a facility dedicated to recovery requires more than just good intentions—it demands careful planning, regulatory knowledge, and a strong business foundation. From selecting the right location to hiring qualified staff, every detail contributes to the success of your mission. Understanding how to start a rehab center involves navigating licensing requirements, developing treatment programs, and securing funding to sustain operations. Community engagement, ethical practices, and outcome-based care models further enhance credibility and effectiveness. With the right strategy and commitment, your center can become a transformative space for healing and hope, offering long-term support to those in need. Navigating legal and regulatory processes is a cornerstone of launching your center. Contact your state's Department of Health or Substance Abuse Services to understand licensure rules, inspection requirements, and documentation standards. You'll need to develop detailed protocols covering emergency procedures, medication management, staff qualifications, and client safety. If your state requires a Certificate of Need (CON), begin that process immediately—it can take months. Set up policies that ensure HIPAA compliance, from client records to telehealth sessions. Laying a legal foundation ensures that your operation starts—and stays—within the law. Your physical space should promote healing while fulfilling strict health and safety codes. Choose a location that meets zoning laws and is accessible for clients and staff alike. A residential treatment center needs multiple bedrooms, group areas, and outdoor spaces, while an outpatient center requires private therapy rooms and administrative offices. Make sure your building meets ADA accessibility requirements and includes safety features such as secure storage, sprinkler systems, and alarm protocols. The ambiance should be calm and therapeutic—soft lighting, natural elements, and a clutter-free design go a long way in creating a safe atmosphere. Staffing is one of the most influential elements of your center's reputation and success. Hire a clinical director with the experience and credentials to oversee treatment protocols and supervise therapists. Fill out your team with licensed counselors, social workers, addiction specialists, nursing staff, and case managers. For residential centers, 24/7 support staff may also be required. Administrative hires should include intake coordinators and billing experts with knowledge of behavioral health systems. Look for individuals who share your core values, understand trauma-informed care, and are committed to long-term recovery outcomes. Create a consistent and well-documented treatment structure. Develop daily schedules, phases of care, group curricula, and relapse prevention plans. Your programming should reflect your population's needs and align with payer expectations. Include a balance of individual therapy, group work, psychoeducation, medication management, and aftercare planning. Draft policies for client intake, risk assessments, progress reviews, and discharge. These protocols not only support clinical outcomes but are essential for insurance billing, compliance, and staff training. Financial systems are critical to keeping your rehab center operational. Choose an electronic medical record (EMR) platform tailored to behavioral health, with capabilities for clinical documentation, scheduling, and billing. Begin the credentialing process with Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurers early, as approval can take three to six months. Establish billing systems that manage claims submission, denials, and reimbursement tracking efficiently. A knowledgeable billing team—or third-party billing partner—can safeguard your cash flow and keep operations running smoothly. Build a marketing plan that communicates your center's unique strengths and builds trust. Your website should clearly explain services, showcase staff credentials, and offer an easy intake process. Use local SEO to ensure visibility when people search for nearby treatment options. Establish referral relationships with physicians, therapists, court systems, and hospitals. Host community seminars or webinars, and engage with local health fairs and support groups. Every outreach effort should reflect professionalism and compassion—your brand is built on credibility and care. As opening day approaches, conduct test runs of every system: client intake, documentation workflows, scheduling, medication protocols, and staff coordination. Consider a soft opening with a small group of clients to refine your process. Host orientation sessions for staff and align on emergency responses, documentation standards, and communication protocols. Hold daily debriefs during the first few weeks to identify and solve problems quickly. A focused, well-prepared launch builds confidence among staff and credibility in your community from day one. Success doesn't stop at opening. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track admissions, client progress, staff efficiency, and billing accuracy. Schedule internal audits, client satisfaction surveys, and program reviews regularly. Aim for accreditation through CARF or The Joint Commission to boost your center's reputation and payer eligibility. Reinvest in staff development, facility improvements, and service expansion based on real-time data and evolving needs. A culture of continuous improvement turns a startup into a sustainable center of excellence. As the demand for mental health and addiction services continues to rise, industry leaders are exploring new ways to scale and innovate. Aligning with larger networks or acquiring smaller providers can help organizations expand their reach and improve service delivery. Behavioral health mergers and acquisitions have become a driving force behind this transformation, offering opportunities to consolidate resources, enhance clinical capabilities, and achieve operational efficiency. These transactions require careful planning, regulatory compliance, and cultural alignment to be successful. With the right strategy, such integrations can strengthen community impact while delivering long-term financial and clinical benefits. Launching a rehab center is a demanding but deeply rewarding endeavor. It requires a combination of clinical integrity, business structure, and unwavering commitment to client care. By taking deliberate, practical steps—from licensure and staffing to marketing and quality assurance—you lay the groundwork for a facility that changes lives. When purpose is backed by preparation, your dream evolves into a thriving, trusted place of healing that your community can depend on for years to come. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New law helps clear the way for birthing centers in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — At Des Moines Midwives Collective, they do prenatal and checkup appointments for expecting mothers, but they're not allowed to use this facility for the actual birthing process. They have to either go to the family's home or the hospital. But they say some mothers want an in-between, a home-like environment with a birthing tub and cozy feel, while still having the medical backup and professional facility. Right now, there are none of those in Iowa. However, a new law that will go into effect July 1 will help clear the way for birthing centers to be opened in Iowa. Midwife, nurse practitioner and owner of Des Moines Midwives Collective Caitlin Hainley has been fighting for over a decade to make that happen. She sued the state for permission to open a new birthing center, but lost in court. During that fight, she also was working on the legislative aspect of it, and was victorious there. Last month Governor Reynolds signed a bill that removed birth centers from the definition of health facilities covered by Certificate of Need law. This means standalone birthing centers will now be allowed. Iowa governor rejects GOP bill to increase regulations of Summit's carbon dioxide pipeline Certificate of Need was meant to keep costs down but restrict duplicate services. Some other midwives around the state have tried to apply for an exception but got denied and lost that money. 'Birth centers are actually the safest places to have your babies and provide the best outcomes for both babies and moms and also just really help cost savings,' Hainley said. 'So we've known this for a long time, but Iowa has not been friendly to birth centers. We've had something called a certificate-of-need that birth centers have been listed on. To even ask if you can open a birth center, you have to file an application and pay up to $20,000, which you don't get back. It's a way to keep competition away. Instead of actually keeping health care costs down like it was touted to do in the 1970s, so many studies have been done on Certificate of Need law since then. They found that controlling competition in that way actually increases prices and decreases innovation.' Iowa and Des Moines do not have as many options for mothers as other cities across the country. 'We have an urban maternity desert here in Des Moines. This is the capital city of Iowa, and there are still so many services that pregnant moms can't access. You can't have a water birth in the entire state of Iowa in any single hospital. So if you want a birth, your baby in water, as is done in hospitals across the U.S., you cannot have that here,' Hainley said. 'Women can't get reasonable, high quality midwifery led care in Des Moines for a variety of options and desires.' Des Moines Midwives Collective hopes to build a birthing center one day to give a place where mothers can get the medical professionalism and homey comfort care while giving birth. 'What birthing centers generally look like, is really the most common model is a house like a single-family home that has been converted to be used as a birthing center. Your birthing room has a bed with like real linens on it, and that's fitted with a specific birthing tub. But really just a homey, comforting environment where the trust is really in the birthing process,' she added. This new law is just step one of the process of building a birthing center. July 1 it'll be possible to build, but it would have to be a mainly out of pocket clinic. The next step for them is to work on insurance reform, to make this option affordable and possible for all moms and families. Metro News: New law helps clear the way for birthing centers in Iowa Victim injured in Des Moines apartment fire has died A new rhino is calling Blank Park Zoo home DMPD seek help to find suspect in violent assault with a shoe 'ICE Out' protest brings in hundreds in Des Moines Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
A proposal to remove hospice providers from a state review poses a threat to patient care
Get Rhode Island News Alerts Sign up to get breaking news and interesting stories from Rhode Island in your inbox each weekday. Enter Email Sign Up The CON process isn't one of the flashier, public-facing functions of state government, but it has a direct impact on the quality of health and hospice care that Rhode Islanders receive throughout their lives. Advertisement The CON process is used to determine the need for a particular health care service and to ensure that providers entering Rhode Island are prepared and equipped to provide the highest quality, most ethical care before receiving a license. Exempting hospice from meeting the rigorous standards that a CON requires poses an immediate threat to the quality of patient care. Advertisement In fact, extensive In the last decade, profit-driven private equity firms have spent more than Recently, based on increased reports of hospice fraud, waste and abuse, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced All of this is a warning for Rhode Island. To roll back Certificate of Need requirements for hospice providers exposes vulnerable Rhode Islanders to the whims of anonymous, for-profit operators who put profit first, and patient care a distant second. Research has demonstrated that states with CON requirements have much higher quality of hospice care. When we opened in 1976, HopeHealth was only the second hospice in the United States. As the leader of this nonprofit organization, I can tell you that this work is not about maximizing profits. It's a calling. On behalf of our patients, their families, and our employees, we strongly urge the General Assembly not to weaken Rhode Island's Certificate of Need process. Instead, we should recommit to maintaining the high-quality hospice system that provides a level of care that Rhode Islanders have come to expect — and deserve — from their hospice providers by keeping hospice in CON. Advertisement Diana Franchitto is the president and CEO of HopeHealth Hospice & Palliative Care.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mon Health System gets go ahead for new $26.5M hospital in Bridgeport
MORGANTOWN — Almost three years after filing for a Certificate of Need, Mon Health System has been given the approval to build a new hospital in Bridgeport. The week of April 3, officials with Vandalia Health filed for a building permit to construct Vandalia Health Mon Harrison Neighborhood Hospital at Charles Pointe Crossing in Bridgeport. "This week's filing of the hospital's building permit with the City of Bridgeport marks a key milestone in a process that began nearly three years ago in July 2022, when Mon Health System filed for a Certificate of Need for the facility," states a press release. "The path to construction included extensive collaboration with Charles Pointe developers, Genesis Partners, the City of Bridgeport, Harrison County Commission and stakeholders within the county's tax increment financing district." At a cost of $26.5 million, the new two-story hospital will be built in the rapidly-developing Charles Point Crossing on a parcel of land just past Menards. The 40,000-square-foot small format hospital is modeled after Vandalia Health Mon Marion Neighborhood Hospital, which opened in White Hall in 2022. 'Vandalia Health Mon Marion Neighborhood Hospital has become a model for delivering advanced medical services in a smaller, more accessible footprint. We've exceeded expectations in patient satisfaction, speed of care and operational efficiency, and have been recognized as having one of the shortest emergency room visit times in the nation,' said Dr. Christopher Edwards, emergency services director of Vandalia Health Mon Health System emergency medicine medical director and Vandalia Health Mon Marion and Mon Harrison Neighborhood Hospitals chief administrative officer. 'Our hospital's success has proven that neighborhood hospitals can offer the same quality of care as larger institutions — just closer to home. We're extremely excited to bring this quality, convenient care to the people of Harrison County and surrounding communities with the construction of Vandalia Health Mon Harrison Neighborhood Hospital.' The first floor of the new Mon Harrison Neighborhood Hospital will feature 24/7 emergency care, including eight emergency rooms staffed by board-certified physicians who will provide comprehensive inpatient care. The first floor will contain 10 private inpatient rooms, pharmacy services, radiology services such as CT, MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, echocardiogram and more. The second floor will be constructed as shell space reserved for future clinical or administrative expansion, and will be designed to address future needs of the community. 'This hospital is the result of incredible collaboration at every level,' said David Goldberg, president and CEO of Mon Health System and Davis Health System - Vandalia Health Northern Region, and executive vice president of Vandalia Health. 'From the City of Bridgeport and Harrison County Commission to Genesis Partners and our partners in the TIF district — everyone came together with a shared vision to improve access to health care in Harrison County. "We are deeply grateful for their support, partnership and unwavering commitment to bringing this much-needed facility to life for the people of Harrison County. With our new hospital, we cannot wait to deliver on our promise to provide exceptional care to this region. Mon Health is known far and wide and now as Vandalia Health, the breadth and depth of resources only enhance our ability to meet the needs of the community, one patient at a time.' Construction will begin in spring 2025 and is anticipated to take just over a year, with architectural and engineering work already complete. Equipment has been ordered, and materials are in process for development this month.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NC Senate to consider bill ending certification process for new health care facilities
Two North Carolina Senate committees have advanced a bill repealing the state's 'certificate of need' law that requires new health care services and facilities go through an approval process to determine their necessity. Whether the General Assembly passes the bill, known as Senate Bill 370, may ultimately be a moot point. The state courts are currently considering a case that could also bring an end to certificate of need laws in North Carolina at the direction of the state Supreme Court, which in October wrote that the lawsuit's allegations 'could render the Certificate of Need law unconstitutional in all its applications.' Currently, 35 states require health care providers to complete the certificate of need process before creating certain new offerings. In North Carolina, that process is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services with the aim of restricting 'unnecessary increases in health care costs' and 'unnecessary health services and facilities based on geographic, demographic and economic consideration.' The North Carolina Healthcare Association, which represents hospitals, supports the practice, writing in a 2024 policy brief that the program 'ensures that hospitals and health systems maintain the resources to provide high-value care to all.' Proponents of certificate of need laws say they prevent unnecessary expenses on new medical facilities and services that would be underutilized and whose costs would ultimately be passed down to patients. Opponents say that in practice, the program impedes vital health care expansion and forces patients to shoulder the cost of millions in consulting and legal fees that hospitals pay to navigate the certificate of need process. Sen. Benton Sawrey (R-Johnston), one of the repeal bill's primary sponsors, criticized the certificate of need process as 'anticompetitive,' arguing that by allowing the market to decide where new facilities and services are necessary, patients will be better off and will be able to pay less for medical services. 'Ironically, a government program originally aimed at reducing health care prices is likely inflating them, at least in some situations,' Sawrey said. 'I think we can be proactive about this decision, but it requires a willingness to have that discussion rather than fall back time and again on the same entrenched positions that don't work, don't control costs, and don't let innovation occur in North Carolina's healthcare space.' Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett), a longtime hospital board member, called the change 'long overdue' and said in his experience, the process to receive a certificate of need takes a minimum of two years and $500,000 in legal fees. 'We could do not any cancer treatments in Harnett County up until this past year,' Burgin said. 'We went through the CON process in the years, but it took six years — really eight, if you add the work-up to it — from the time we started talking about it.' Tim Rogers, CEO of the Association for Home and Hospice Care of North Carolina, said during public comment that his group believes the certificate of need law 'plays a vital role in ensuring the integrity, quality, and accessibility of this vital service.' 'The CON process helps prevent fraud, waste, and abuse by ensuring that new providers entering into North Carolina meet rigorous regulatory and financial standards before entering the market,' Rogers said. 'This screening reduces the risk of bad actors, exploiting Medicare and Medicaid, safeguarding taxpayer dollars while ethical business practices are held.' Cody Hand, a lobbyist with the North Carolina Radiation Oncology Society, said that linear accelerators, like those Burgin said were held up by the CON process in Harnett County, require such careful review because they emit ionizing radiation and so are classified as nuclear technology. 'They require strict safety protocols that in this state don't exist outside of the CON process,' Hand said. 'The CON process serves as a critical checkpoint in both the safety and the staffing, not necessarily for cost control and not necessarily for planning, but for safety and accountability.' After passing the Health Care committee Wednesday, the bill received a favorable recommendation from the Senate Rules Committee Thursday morning. It has not yet been scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor.
