Section 101656 Of Article 1. General Provisions From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 101. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 1.
101656
. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Natividad Medical Center, currently a constituent department
of the County of Monterey, is a designated public hospital, as
defined in subdivision (d) of Section 14166.1 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, and a critical component of the state's health
care safety net.
(b) In an era of health care reform and a constantly evolving
competitive health care environment, in order to carry out its
mission of improving the health status of the people of the county
through access to affordable, high-quality health care services, it
is necessary that the medical center continues to improve its ability
to function with flexibility, responsiveness, and innovation.
(c) The Board of Supervisors of the County of Monterey has
determined that the needs of the citizens of the county would best be
served if the medical center, while continuing as a designated
public hospital and maintaining its mission, is affiliated or
consolidated with one or more health care facilities in the County of
Monterey and operated by a separate and distinct public hospital
authority that is separate and apart from the county.
(d) The board of supervisors has also determined that the creation
of a public hospital authority, to be charged with the management,
administration, and control of the medical center as a designated
public safety net hospital, and the affiliation or consolidation of
the medical center with one or more health care facilities in the
County of Monterey is the best way to fulfill the county's commitment
to its residents, including the low income, medically indigent, and
special needs populations of the county.
(e) Because there is no general law under which this public
hospital authority could be formed for these purposes, the adoption
of a special act and formation of a special authority by the
Legislature are required, and the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Monterey has requested that the Legislature act.