ORDERS:
STIPULATION AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL
This matter comes before the Court on the motion of Petitioner Summerville Surgery
Center, L.P. (“SSC”), to which Respondent South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (“DHEC”) and Lowcountry Ambulatory Care Center, LLC (“LACC”)
consent, for dismissal of the above-captioned consolidated matters.
Petitioner brought these consolidated matters by separate petitions filed with the Court.
The first petition challenged Respondent DHEC’s November 3, 2003 proposed decision to grant
LACC’s application for a Certificate of Need to construct a single-specialty ambulatory surgery
center housing two operating rooms. The second petition challenged Respondent DHEC’s
November 3, 2003 proposed decision to deny SSC’s application for a Certificate of Need to
construct a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery center housing two operating rooms and two
endoscopy rooms. After the petitions were consolidated, a hearing was set to begin on July 7,
2004.
The parties since have come to an agreement whereby Petitioner will voluntarily dismiss
its petitions on certain terms and conditions as agreed to by the parties, submitted to this Court,
and ordered below. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, upon the stipulation and consent of the parties hereto,
that the foregoing consolidated actions be dismissed with prejudice, each party to bear its own
costs and expenses;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent DHEC shall accept and approve an
amendment to SSC’s application for a Certificate of Need, which eliminates the two dedicated
endoscopy rooms from Petitioner’s proposed surgery center without any other substantial
modification to the application as reviewed by Respondent DHEC;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent DHEC shall, within seven (7) calendar
days of the date of this Order, issue a Certificate of Need to Petitioner based on DHEC’s file
regarding Petitioner’s original application and the aforementioned amendment to the application;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent DHEC shall, within seven (7) calendar
days of the date of this Order, issue a Certificate of Need to Respondent LACC in accordance
with DHEC’s November 3, 2003 proposed decision to grant LACC’s Certificate of Need
application;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Certificates of Need issued in accordance with this
Order shall be final and binding on the parties, and shall be considered a final agency decision
for which neither staff reconsideration nor contested case proceedings were requested by any
party.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
__________________________________________
MARVIN F. KITTRELL
Chief Administrative Law Judge |
