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TO REITERATE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY'S WELL-FOUNDED EXPECTATION THAT THE GREENVILLE HEALTH AUTHORITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES SHALL CONSCIENTIOUSLY AND PROACTIVELY SUPERVISE THE LESSEE'S COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OF ITS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ENUMERATED IN THE MASTER AFFILIATION AGREEMENT AND THE LEASE AND CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENT RATIFIED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN ACT 274 OF 2018.
Whereas, Act 432 of 1947 created the predecessor to the Greenville Health Authority (GHA) in response to the growing need for adequate health and hospital care for the residents of Greenville County and its surrounding communities; and
Whereas, always attentive to improving the delivery of vital health care-related services countywide, the General Assembly has amended the GHA's enabling legislation numerous times since 1947; and
Whereas, in just the past decade alone, the General Assembly has enacted four separate acts assigning GHA additional duties that include, but are not limited to:
(1) enlarging and improving any facility it may acquire or construct;
(2) adequately staffing and equipping any health care facility that it may operate;
(3) providing and operating outpatient departments and services;
(4) establishing and operating clinics deemed necessary by the board of trustees to the health of the residents of Greenville County and the communities served;
(5) providing teaching and instructional programs and schools for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, case workers, administrators, and other persons;
(6) contracting directly or in conjunction with insurers, employers, and individuals for the provision of health care services on a population risk or episodic basis and to expend the proceeds derived from these activities to support its programs and services; and
Whereas, since its very inception, the Greenville Health Authority has borne an imposing fiduciary obligation that demands a steadfast commitment to a dynamic and ever-improving health care standard that far exceeds the lessee's responsibilities outlined in the Master Affiliation Agreement and the Lease and Contribution Agreement ratified by the General Assembly in Act 274 of 2018; and
Whereas, the Greenville County Legislative Delegation and the General Assembly believe that a healthy, competitive, and patient-centered environment requires GHA's assurance that physicians can practice independently and in a manner they deem to be in the best interests of their patients without direct or indirect fear of retribution in any form; and
Whereas, any entity that leases GHA's assets shall not:
(1) limit the ability of Upstate physicians to be members of the medical staffs of GHA facilities;
(2) limit the ability of any medical staff physician to contract for provision of call coverage, teaching, and/or other service opportunities; or
(3) disadvantage non-lessee employed physicians by negatively impacting their ability to schedule or use GHA clinical resources and assets equitably; and
Whereas, the independent practice of medicine should include all business alternatives including, but not limited to, employment in a health system, employment in the Greenville Health Authority, and engagement in practice outside of either entity. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, reiterate their well-founded expectation that the Greenville Health Authority Board of Trustees shall conscientiously and proactively supervise the lessee's compliance with all of its duties and responsibilities enumerated in the Master Affiliation Agreement and the Lease and Contribution Agreement ratified by the General Assembly in Act 274 of 2018.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Chair of the Greenville Health Authority Board of Trustees.
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