S 3939: Requires every general hospital to have a community advisory board.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3939 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN-SIGAL, SEPULVEDA, SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the New York city health and hospitals corporation act, in relation to hospital community advisory boards The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2803-l of the public health law, as amended by 2 chapter 639 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 2803-l. Community service plans and community advisory boards. 1. 4 The governing body of a [voluntary non-profit] general hospital, in 5 cooperation with the hospital's community advisory board established 6 under this section, must issue an organizational mission statement iden- 7 tifying at a minimum the populations and communities served by the 8 hospital and the hospital's commitment to meeting the health care needs 9 of the community. 10 2. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community 11 advisory board established under this section must at least every three 12 years: 13 (i) review and amend as necessary the hospital mission statement; 14 (ii) solicit the views of the communities served by the hospital on 15 such issues as the hospital's performance and service priorities; 16 (iii) demonstrate the hospital's operational and financial commitment 17 to meeting community health care needs, to provide charity care services 18 and to improve access to health care services by the underserved; and 19 (iv) prepare and make available to the public a statement showing on a 20 combined basis a summary of the financial resources of the hospital and 21 related corporations and the allocation of available resources to hospi- 22 tal 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. LBD07377-01-5 
 S. 3939 2 1 3. The governing body, in cooperation with the hospital's community 2 advisory board, must at least annually prepare and make available to the 3 public an implementation report regarding the hospital's performance in 4 meeting the health care needs of the community, providing charity care 5 services, and improving access to health care services by the under- 6 served. 7 4. The governing body shall file with the commissioner its mission 8 statement, its annual implementation report, and at least every three 9 years a report detailing amendments to the statement and reflecting 10 changes in the hospital's operational and financial commitment to meet- 11 ing the health care needs of the community, providing charity care 12 services, and improving access to health care services by the under- 13 served. Each of these documents shall be made available to the public 14 by the hospital on its website and by the department on its website. 15 5. (i) Every general hospital shall establish a community advisory 16 board to consider and advise the hospital upon matters concerning the 17 development of any plans or programs of the hospital, and may establish 18 rules and regulations with respect to the community advisory board. 19 (ii) The members of the community advisory board shall be represen- 20 tatives of the community served by the hospital. The hospital shall file 21 with the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list 22 of the members of the hospital's community advisory board, which shall 23 be made available to the public by the hospital on its website and shall 24 be made available to the public by the department on its website. 25 (iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, 26 special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil 27 division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit 28 such person's office or employment by reason of acceptance of membership 29 on the community advisory board. No member of the community advisory 30 board shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on 31 the community advisory board, except, however, that members of community 32 advisory boards may be reimbursed by the hospital for necessary expenses 33 incurred in relation to service on the community advisory board. 34 § 2. Subdivision 11 of section 4 of section 1 of chapter 1016 of the 35 laws of 1969, enacting the New York city health and hospitals corpo- 36 ration act, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1978, is amended to 37 read as follows: 38 11. (i) The corporation shall establish a community advisory board for 39 each of its hospitals to consider and advise the corporation and the 40 hospital upon matters concerning the development of any plans or 41 programs of the corporation, and may establish rules and regulations 42 with respect to such boards. 43 (ii) The members of such advisory boards shall be representatives of 44 the community served by the hospital. The corporation shall file with 45 the commissioner, and from time to time update, an up-to-date list of 46 the members of each hospital's community advisory board, which shall be 47 made available to the public by the hospital on its website and by the 48 department of health on its website. 49 (iii) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, 50 special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil 51 division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit 52 [his] such person's office or employment by reason of [his] acceptance 53 of membership on such community advisory board. No member of such board 54 shall receive compensation or allowance for services rendered on such 55 board, except, however, that members of community advisory boards may be 56 reimbursed for necessary expenses [up to and including twenty-five 
 S. 3939 3 1 dollars] during a calendar month by submitting a personal summary vouch- 2 er. Each community advisory board established under this subdivision 3 shall serve as the community advisory board for the respective hospital 4 under section 2803-1 of the public health law. 5 § 3. This act shall take effect two hundred seventy days after it 6 shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 7 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 8 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 9 completed on or before such effective date.