12.96.030 Notification to Community Health Commission and setting of public hearing.
The hospital shall also mail a notice of intended actions to the Secretary of the Community Health Commission, City of Berkeley, 1947 Center Street, 2nd Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704, not less than ninety days prior to the intended date of the action. The hospital shall also mail the notice of intended actions to the City Manager and City Council.
Upon receipt of the Notice, the Secretary of the Community Health Commission shall schedule a hearing at a time and location determined to be adequate to accommodate public attendance no later than 60 days prior to the proposed discontinuance of services date set out in the hospital’s notice.
At the public hearing, the hospital shall describe the services to be closed, plans for alternate access to the service, and shall afford the opportunity for interested parties to present their comments on the hospital’s proposal.
Exceptions: The requirements for a public notice, hearing and subsequent determinations, planning and reporting by the hospital shall not be applicable when the following circumstances exist:
(1)When there is no interruption in services to patients because another hospital or healthcare system is simultaneously seeking licensure to continue providing the same array of services to the same patients as are currently served by the hospital that is providing the notice of discontinuation of services and that other provider has indicated that it will provide the services within the City of Berkeley. To qualify for this exception, the hospital and the applicant who is seeking the licensure approval, must ensure that there is no interruption in the service(s) which are provided to the patients currently served by the hospital at this same site.
(2)When a hospital proposes to discontinue services at an existing campus or site in order to continue providing the same service(s), without interruption, to the same patient population at a new site that is located within the City of Berkeley. The new site must have sufficient physical capacity and resources to serve the same patient volume as was previously served by the hospital at the site where service(s) are to be discontinued. (Ord. 7535-NS § 1 (part), 2017: Ord. 5891-NS § 2, 1988)