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May 24, 2022
Media contacts: Jonathan Modie, OHA, 971-246-9139, PHD.Communications@dhsoha.state.or.us
Final orders issued to Encompass Health, Post Acute Medical, LLC
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has issued final orders approving certificates of need for inpatient rehabilitation facilities proposed by two companies: Encompass Health Corp. and Post Acute Medical, LLC.
Both companies filed certificate of need applications in late 2018 to build freestanding 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. The Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Oregon would be located at Northeast Belknap Court in Hillsboro, and Post Acute Medical’s hospital would be at 13333 SW 68th Parkway in Tigard.
Encompass Health is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., and Post Acute Medical, LLC is based in Enola, Pa.
OHA’s Certificate of Need (CN) Program issued draft recommendations in January 2020 proposing to approve both companies’ applications and issued proposed decisions for approval in March 2020. With the final orders for both sites, both companies are authorized to move forward with construction of their hospitals.
Inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) provide specialized treatment and services for patients needing an intensive rehabilitation program. They treat patients who have suffered a stroke, brain injury, or other severe injury or illness.
IRFs are meant to focus on the gap between being in an acute-care hospital bed and returning to activities of daily living with improved functional status. IRFs are required to provide intense rehabilitative therapies for a minimum of three hours a day, five days a week.
According to research on IRFs around the country, there is strong evidence that, for some patients, placement at an IRF following a hospital stay leads to better long-term health outcomes.
Oregon statute ORS 442.315(1) requires organizations proposing IRFs to apply for and obtain a certificate of need from OHA prior to development of such a facility.
OHA’s Certificate of Need Program is a regulatory program designed to discourage unnecessary investment in health care facilities, technology and services. As the name implies, the purpose of certificate of need programs is to evaluate the plans for a service or facility being considered to certify that there is a real need for it.
Historically, the focus of such programs has been to promote access, ensure quality and help control costs by limiting market entry to those facilities and services that are found to be needed, appropriately sponsored, and designed to promote quality and equitable access to care.
Each state Certificate of Need program implicitly incorporates these principles by predicating certification of regulated services on the basis of community or public need. Unnecessary investment in unneeded facilities and services may result in the building of facilities that are not financially viable and may also put financial stress on existing providers, resulting in higher costs and disruption to the health care system.
Oregon’s Certificate of Need Program, administered through the Health Care Regulation and Quality Improvement Section at the OHA Public Health Division, is a standardized program that has existed since 1971. Nationally, 36 states and Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia have CN programs. Three additional states have variations of the program.
The final orders can be viewed on the Certificate of Need website.
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