(1) Subject to funding being made available by the legislature, the following hospitals may apply for reimbursement of costs for purchase and installation of surgical smoke evacuation equipment:

(a) Hospitals certified as critical access hospitals under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1395i-4;

(b) Hospitals with fewer than 25 licensed acute care beds;

(c) Hospitals certified by the centers for medicare and medicaid services as sole community hospitals; and

(d) Hospitals that qualify as a medicare dependent hospital.

(2) Costs must be incurred by the hospital on or before January 1, 2025.

(3) Reimbursement is limited to $1,000 for each operating room in the hospital.

(4) Reimbursement requests may be submitted from January 2, 2025, until April 30, 2025. If moneys in the reimbursement account are exhausted, no further requests will be processed.

(5) To apply for reimbursement, the hospital must follow the directions posted on the department website, https://www.lni.wa.gov/.