History of the State Hospital Review and Planning Council

Established by Chapter 331 of the Laws of 1960, the Council is made up of 31 members and must include representatives of consumers, physicians, hospital and nursing home providers, a home health care representative and two (2) members of the Mental Health Services Council. Under the law, the Council's membership must reflect the diversity of the State's population including, but not limited to, the various geographic areas. Members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, to serve a 3-year term and may not serve more than 6 years within 12 years. The composition of the Council and its advisory responsibilities are set forth in Article 29, Section 2904, of the Public Health Law (PHL)

The SHRPC is the successor of the State Advisory Council of the Joint Hospital Survey and Planning Commission which was formed in 1947 to survey the need for new hospitals and develop plans to comply with the federal Hill-Burton Act. In 1964, New York enacted the nation's first certificate of need law, and the SHRPC was empowered to advise the Board of Social Welfare and the Department of Health with respect to the establishment and construction of health care facilities

In 1965, legislation was enacted to transfer responsibility for approving and monitoring construction of medical facilities from the Department of Social Welfare to the Department of Health. The new law also gave authority to the Department of Health (DOH) to approve the construction of facilities located in New York City. In addition, this legislation granted SHRPC the authority (under section 2803 of the PHL) to adopt and amend rules and regulations, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Health, governing medical facility operational standards and rates of reimbursement. The establishment of new facilities remained with the State Board of Social Welfare until 1970, when this authority was transferred to the Public Health Council.

Subsequent changes in statute extended SHRPC's authority to home health agencies (Laws of New York, Chapter 895 of 1977). Under Article 36 of the PHL, SHRPC makes recommendations concerning certified home health agency CON establishment and construction applications and adopts regulations. In 1984, (Laws of New York, Chapter 959 of 1984) the Legislature expanded SHRPC's jurisdiction to include hospice establishment, construction and regulation.