Chapter 1. Aging of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 103. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 1.

The department shall provide staff and budgetary support for planning, evaluation, education, research design, funding, and medical leadership for health promotion and preventive health services for older adults. For purposes of this section, "older adults" means persons 55 years of age or older.

The California Commission on Aging shall allocate 5 percent of community grant funds pursuant to Title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, (P.L. 89-73; 79 Stat. 218) or forty thousand dollars ($40,000), whichever is the lesser amount, to experiment with the use of available mobile medical services units to provide outpatient medical care for the aging.

The department shall maintain a program to promote availability of medical and health care for the aging. The department may contract with public or private organizations for conducting pilot projects designed to determine the most effective and most efficient methods of providing medical and health care services for the aging. For purposes of this chapter, the term "aging" means persons who are eligible for old age benefits under the Social Security Act. Such program may include, but is not limited to:
  (a) Technical and financial assistance to local agencies for pilot projects developing or testing new or innovative systems for assuring the availability of medical and health care for the aging. Pilot projects may include, but are not limited to:
  (1) Mobile health clinics.
  (2) Mobile health teams.
  (3) Patient transportation systems.
  (4) Patient surveillance and referral systems.
  (b) Studies of the health and medical care of the aging of the state.
  (c) Coordination with similar programs of the federal government, other states, and public or private organizations.
  (d) Development of recommendations for improved systems of medical and health care.
  (e) Collection and summarization of statistics describing needs for and effectiveness of various methods of providing health and medical care.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the California Commission on Aging be the coordinating agency of all programs for the aging in this state, except those programs designated elsewhere by the Governor or Legislature. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the commission cooperate with the department to evaluate and further coordinate programs for outpatient medical services for the aging.