Passed by the House February 11, 1991

Yeas 95 Nays 0

Speaker of the

House of Representatives

Passed by the Senate April 27, 1991

Yeas 40 Nays 1

President of the Senate

Approved

Governor of the State of Washington

CERTIFICATE

I, Alan Thompson, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 1400 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

Chief Clerk

FILED

Secretary of State

State of Washington

_______________________________________________

HOUSE BILL 1400

_______________________________________________

Passed Legislature - 1991 Regular Session

State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1991 Regular Session

By Representatives Morton, Grant, Fuhrman, Bray, Sprenkle, Morris, Chandler, Paris, Rasmussen, McLean, Forner and Rayburn; by request of Department of Health.

Read first time January 28, 1991. Referred to Committee on Health Care.

AN ACT Relating to rural health; and amending RCW 70.175.050.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 70.175.050 and 1989 1st ex.s. c 9 s 705 are each amended to read as follows:

The secretary shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) To design the project application and selection process, including a program to advertise the project to rural communities and encourage prospective applicants to apply. ((~~Up to six~~)) Project sites ((~~shall be selected which are eligible to~~)) that receive seed grant funding((~~. Funding shall be used to~~)) may hire consultants and shall perform other activities necessary to meet participant requirements defined in this chapter. In considering selection of participants eligible for seed grant funding, the secretary should consider project sites where (a) existing access to health care is severely inadequate, (b) where a financially vulnerable health care facility is present, (c) where a financially vulnerable health care facility is present and an adjoining community in the same catchment area has a competing facility, or (d) where improvements in the delivery of primary care services, including preventive care services, is needed.

((~~Up to six additional~~)) The department may obtain technical assistance support for project sites ((~~shall be selected which receive no funding~~)) that are not selected to be funded sites. The secretary shall select ((~~unfunded~~)) these assisted project sites based upon merit and to the extent possible, based upon the desire to address specific health status outcomes;

(2) To design acceptable outcome measures which are based upon health status outcomes and are to be part of the community plan, to work with communities to set acceptable local outcome targets in the health care delivery system strategic plan, and to serve as a general resource to participants in the planning, administration, and evaluation of project sites;

(3) To assess and approve community strategic plans developed by participants, including an assessment of the technical and financial feasibility of implementing the plan and whether adequate local support for the plan is demonstrated;

(4) To define health care catchment areas, identify financially vulnerable health care facilities, and to identify rural populations which are not receiving adequate health care services;

(5) To identify existing private and public resources which may serve as eligible consultants, identify technical assistance resources for communities in the project, create a register of public and private technical resource services available and provide the register to participants. The secretary shall screen consultants to determine their qualifications prior to including them on the register;

(6) To work with other state agencies, institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations to coordinate technical assistance services for participants;

(7) To administer available funds for community use while participating in the project and establish procedures to assure accountability in the use of seed grant funds by participants;

(8) To define data and other minimum requirements for adequate evaluation of projects and to develop and implement an overall monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the projects;

(9) To act as facilitator for multiple applicants and entrants to the project;

(10) To report to the appropriate legislative committees and others from time to time on the progress of the projects including the identification of statutory and regulatory barriers to successful completion of rural health care delivery goals and an ongoing evaluation of the project.