Bill A2607, and beyond…

In my last posting, I made a point of mentioning bill A2607, which I sponsored, which would have helped us tremendously in our recent dealings with Solaris regarding Muhlenberg Hospital. It is my understanding that the governor will be signing this bill into law sometime soon.
The bill is as follows:

“This bill is intended to provide members of the community served by each general hospital in this State with periodic opportunities to discuss issues relating to hospital operations and community concerns with the administrators and board of trustees of that facility.

The bill provides specifically as follows:

· A general hospital must, at least annually, conduct a public meeting to discuss issues relating to the operation of the hospital and concerns of the community with respect to the delivery of services at the hospital.

· The hospital is to ensure that:
-- at a minimum, the chief executive officer of the hospital, the chairman of the hospital board of trustees, and at least 25% of the members of the hospital board of trustees are present at the meeting and available to respond to questions from members of the public;
-- the meeting is open to members of the public and organized so as to provide the community served by the hospital with information about the operation of the hospital, and to provide an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and raise issues of concern to them;
-- public notice of the meeting is provided: at least 14 days prior to the date of the meeting by posting written notice in the hospital in a conspicuous location that is available to the public, and by publishing the notice in a daily or weekly newspaper of general circulation in the service area of the hospital; and at least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting by posting notice on the Internet website of that hospital; and
-- the hospital provides notice of the meeting to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) at least 30 days prior to the date of the meeting.

· DHSS is to post the notice of each such annual public meeting on its website.

· The bill takes effect on the 60th day following enactment.”

Just as I am giving readers the opportunity to read about this bill, I intend to use this blog to inform my readers about different bills that may affect their lives as soon as they become available- even before they reach this stage, when there is still time for discussion or even amendment.

In the future, please look to this page to read about new pieces of legislation, what these bills would do and who is sponsoring them. I look forward not only to informing readers about these but also hearing their reactions to them.