§ 2-1722. Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning.

(a)

Office Established; Director, Appointment; Term; Operating Procedures. An Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning is established. The head of the Office shall be a director appointed by the County Manager and shall serve at the County Manager's will. The organization and operating procedures of the Office shall be prescribed in administrative orders and regulations of the County Manager and approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The director shall appoint such employees and other personnel as may be necessary to operate the Office. The salaries and compensation in the classified service shall be included in the County's pay plan approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

(b)

Duties and responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities of the Office shall be to provide the proper framework for delivery of countywide healthcare services by:

(1)

Planning and coordinating the delivery of countywide healthcare services for the citizens of Miami-Dade County and, implementing programs that improve access to healthcare for all residents of Miami-Dade County.

(2)

Cooperating and fostering productive relationships among the private and public healthcare providers and healthcare consumers and other affected communities to generate mutually beneficial agreements between and among the providers that enhance the accessibility, efficiency and quality of healthcare delivery and programs affecting all residents of Miami-Dade County, especially the indigent and medically indigent populations. These groups shall be organized in a manner established by the Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning and authorized by the Board of County Commissioners.

(3)

Administering and complying with all countywide policies, initiatives and programs for healthcare approved or established by the Board of County Commissioners, including any healthcare plans for the uninsured, uniform health programs, alternative healthcare delivery systems, programs for the County to maximize federal reimbursements or matching funds, public/private healthcare partnerships, systems for utilizing excess hospital bed capacity throughout the County, and standards for the provision of charity care.

(4)

Making a continuous study and review of all existing County institutions, facilities, services and programs dealing with healthcare or affecting it, for and in consideration of the future needs of Miami-Dade County; and making studies or causing studies to be made of the problems of the uninsured and underinsured, and formulating and recommending plans and programs for the coordination of the activities of all governmental entities and non-governmental agencies dealing with these problems.

(5)

Systematically, reducing the number of uninsured children in Miami-Dade County, Florida, through creative and innovative outreach programs aimed at increasing enrollment in programs designed especially for children.

(6)

Promoting innovation in healthcare by securing grants and contract funding from entities such as, but not limited to, private foundations and federal agencies.

(c)

The County Manager shall annually develop and recommend to the Board of County Commissioners for its approval policies for the planning and delivery of countywide healthcare, including primary, secondary and tertiary care. Further, the County Manager shall develop and recommend to the Board of County Commissioners for its approval long-range five-year plans (and revisions and supplements thereto) for the delivery of countywide healthcare services. The County Manager's annual and long-range plans shall address and include, among other things, recommendations for maximizing revenues, specifically through federal matching fund mechanisms, and for providing for coverage of uninsured children in Miami-Dade County.

(Ord. No. 03-182, § 3, 9-9-03)