Except as otherwise provided in this regulation, before a hospital can provide or hold itself out as providing any specialized rehabilitation program, the hospital shall be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities to provide the program. The requirement that a hospital be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities before the hospital can provide any specialized rehabilitation program shall be waived if the hospital has applied for accreditation for the program, for not more than 2 years from the later of: July 1, 1986; or The date on which the hospital begins operation of the specialized rehabilitation program.