Hospitals Must Have Community Boards

Section 1. Section 2803-l of the public health law, as amended by chapter 639 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:

§ 2803-l. Community service plans and community advisory boards. 1. The governing body of a [voluntary non-profit] general hospital, in cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board established under this section, must issue an organizational mission statement identifying at a minimum the populations and communities served by the hospital and the hospital's commitment to meeting the health care needs of the community.

2. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board established under this section must at least every three years:

(i) review and amend as necessary the hospital mission statement;

(ii) solicit the views of the communities served by the hospital on such issues as the hospital's performance and service priorities;

(iii) demonstrate the hospital's operational and financial commitment to meeting community health care needs, to provide charity care services and to improve access to health care services by the underserved; and

(iv) prepare and make available to the public a statement showing on a combined basis a summary of the financial resources of the hospital and related corporations and the allocation of available resources to hospital purposes including the provision of free or reduced charge services.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02212-01-7

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3. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board, must at least annually prepare and make available to the public an implementation report regarding the hospital's performance in meeting the health care needs of the community, providing charity care services, and improving access to health care services by the underserved.

4. The governing body shall file with the commissioner its mission statement, its annual implementation report, and at least every three years a report detailing amendments to the statement and reflecting changes in the hospital's operational and financial commitment to meeting the health care needs of the community, providing charity care services, and improving access to health care services by the underserved. Each of these documents shall be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and by the department on its website.

5. (i) Every general hospital shall establish a community advisory board to consider and advise the hospital upon matters concerning the development of any plans or programs of the hospital, and may establish rules and regulations with respect to the community advisory board.

(ii) The members of the community advisory board shall be representatives of the community served by the hospital. The hospital shall file with the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list of the members of the hospital's community advisory board, which shall be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and shall be made available to the public by the department on its website.

(iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on the community advisory board. No member of the community advisory board shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on the community advisory board, except, however, that members of community advisory boards may be reimbursed by the hospital for necessary expenses incurred in relation to service on the community advisory board.

§ 2. Subdivision 11 of section 4 of section 1 of chapter 1016 of the laws of 1969, enacting the New York city health and hospitals corporation act, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:

11. (i) The corporation shall establish a community advisory board for each of its hospitals to consider and advise the corporation and the hospital upon matters concerning the development of any plans or programs of the corporation, and may establish rules and regulations with respect to such boards.

(ii) The members of such advisory boards shall be representatives of the community served by the hospital. The corporation shall file with the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list of the members of each hospital's community advisory board, which shall be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and by the department of health on its website.

(iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on such community advisory board. No member of such board shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on such board, except, however, that members of community advisory boards may be reimbursed for necessary expenses [up to and including twenty-five dollars] during a

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calendar month by submitting a personal summary voucher. Each community advisory board established under this subdivision shall serve as the community advisory board for the respective hospital under section 2803-1 of the public health law.

§ 3. This act shall take effect two hundred seventy days after it shall have become a law. However, prior to that date, the commissioner of health and each general hospital shall take actions reasonably necessary to implement this act on that date.