Virginia Eye Institute, Inc. v. State Health Commissioner

BY JUDGE JAMES W. HALEY, JR.

Pursuant to Va. Code § 32.1-102.3, no medical facility “shall commence any project without first obtaining a certificate [of public need] issued by the Commissioner” of State Health. Va. Code § 32.1-102.1 defines “project” to include “an increase in the total number of operating rooms in an existing medical care facility.”

The issue here for resolution is the validity of an administrative determination that Virginia Eye Institute’s (“VEI”). proposed expansion constitutes an increase in the number of operating rooms, with the resultant requirement of a certificate of…