(a)  A health facility may place up to 50 percent of its licensed bed capacity in voluntary suspension for a period not exceeding three years, upon submitting written notification to the state department and to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. However, this section does not authorize a health facility to deactivate all beds utilized for the provision of a basic service or to deactivate all beds utilized for a special service or other supplemental service for which the health facility holds a special permit or licensure approval. Prior to the expiration of the voluntary suspension, the health facility may request an extension, that may be granted by the director if the director finds, after consultation with the Director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, that there is no identified need for additional beds (of the category suspended) in the service area of the health facility. If during a period of voluntary suspension under this section the statewide Health Facilities and Services Plan identifies a need for additional beds (of the category suspended) in the health facility’s service area, the Director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development may require the health facility to terminate the voluntary suspension and exercise one of the following options, at the discretion of the health facility: (1) place some or all of the suspended beds in operation, in accordance with the identified need, within one year following his or her order, or (2) alternatively have the beds deemed permanently converted to other than patient use within the meaning of Section 1268.

(b)  A health facility may remove all or any portion of its voluntarily suspended bed capacity from voluntary suspension by request to the state department, which request shall be granted unless the areas housing the suspended beds fail to meet currently applicable operational requirements or fail to meet construction requirements for the health facility in effect at the time the request for suspension of the beds was received by the state department.

(c)  While health facility beds are in suspension pursuant to subdivision (a), the beds shall not be deemed to be permanently converted to other than patient use, for purposes of Section 1268. The requirements of this section shall not apply to any temporary deactivation of beds necessitated by the work of construction or other activities required with respect to a project for which a certificate of need or certificate of exemption has been granted pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 127125) of Part 2 of Division 107. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit or affect the authority of a health facility to use a portion of its beds in one bed classification in another bed classification as permitted by subdivision (a) of Section 127170, including the use of general acute care beds as skilled nursing beds; provided, however, that when beds in a particular classification are suspended pursuant to this section, the remainder of the health facility’s beds in the same classification may not be used so as to result in elimination of all beds utilized for provision of a basic service or utilized for provision of a special service or other supplemental service for which the health facility holds a special permit or licensure approval.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1023, Sec. 158. Effective September 29, 1996.)