Florida Senate - 2009                                    SB 1028
       
       
       
       By Senator Sobel
       
       
       
       
       31-01876-09                                           20091028__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to racial and ethnic minority health
    3         care; requiring the Department of Health to develop
    4         and implement plans relating to effective community
    5         outreach and to increasing the number of racial and
    6         ethnic minority health care professionals; requiring
    7         the department to collaborate with universities,
    8         colleges, and others on development of courses on
    9         cultural competency, sensitivity, and health literacy;
   10         requiring the department to require additional
   11         curriculum content for continuing education courses
   12         for health care professionals; providing an effective
   13         date.
   14         
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16         
   17         Section 1. Racial and ethnic minority health care.—The
   18  Department of Health shall:
   19         (1) Develop and implement a statewide plan for effective
   20  outreach to racial and ethnic minority communities throughout
   21  the state to ensure their maximum participation in publicly
   22  funded health benefits programs.
   23         (2) Develop and implement a statewide plan for increasing
   24  the number of racial and ethnic minority health care
   25  professionals, including recommendations for the financing
   26  mechanisms and recruitment strategies necessary to carry out the
   27  plan.
   28         (3) Work collaboratively with universities and colleges of
   29  medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and other health care
   30  professional training programs to develop courses on cultural
   31  competency, sensitivity, and health literacy that are designed
   32  to address the problem of racial and ethnic disparities in
   33  health care access, utilization, treatment decisions, quality,
   34  and outcomes.
   35         (4) By July 1, 2010, require the curriculum of each health
   36  care continuing education course to include cultural competency,
   37  sensitivity, and health literacy in the respective practice of
   38  the health care profession.
   39         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.