(1) Within sixty (60) days of the enactment of this Chapter, the Mayor shall appoint a Citizen Health Advisory Committee to the Health Department. The Citizen Health Advisory Committee shall be comprised of thirteen (13) persons, all of whom shall be residents of Philadelphia, none of whom, with the exception of the person described in subsection (b)(.4) shall be employees of the City of Philadelphia. In selecting these persons, consideration shall be given to geographical, age, gender and racial diversity, and, to the extent reasonably possible, they shall be selected in accordance with the following provisions:
(a) there shall be among them nine District Health Center patients;
(b) of the remaining four (4), there shall be among them at least one (1) person in each of the following categories:
(.1) person who is a health services provider;
(.2) person experienced in health services management;
(.3) person who is a health advocate;
(.4) person experienced in representing unionized health care workers;
(c) where there is a District Health Center Community Advisory Committee, as provided in subsection 6-709(5), it may provide recommendations for appointment to the Departmental Citizen Health Advisory Committee;
(d) Members of the Citizen Health Advisory Committee shall be selected for their expertise in community affairs, local government, finance and banking, legal affairs, trade unions, and other commercial and industrial concerns, or social services agencies within the community.
(2) Persons appointed to the Citizen Health Advisory Committee shall serve for terms of two (2) years, and may serve additional terms upon reappointment by the Health Commissioner, except that, to achieve a staggering of membership, six (6) of the initial appointments, four (4) of whom shall be District Health Center patients, shall be for three (3) year terms.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Citizen Health Advisory Committee to:
(a) advise the Commissioner on the programs and performance of Ambulatory Health Services;
(b) assist in the establishment, implementation and/or review of personnel policies and procedures related to Ambulatory Health Services;
(c) assist in establishment, implementation and/or review of policy for financial management practices, budgetary and programmatic issues, District Health Center priorities, criteria for payment schedules and long-range financial planning;
(d) evaluate District Health Center activities including service utilization patterns, efficiency, patient satisfaction, achievement of project objectives and development of a process for hearing and resolving patient grievances;
(e) held assure that the District Health Centers operate in compliance with applicable Federal, State and local laws and regulations; and
(f) assist in the establishment, implementation and/or review of health care policies including scope and availability of services, location and hours of services and quality-of-care audit procedures.
(4) Health Department personnel shall cooperate fully with all requests for information from the Citizen Health Advisory Committee. No City employee may be disciplined in any manner for cooperating with the activities of the Citizen Health Advisory Committee, or for providing it through the appropriate administrative channels with any information within the scope of its responsibilities, provided, however, that the Citizen Health Advisory Committee shall not request, nor shall any employee provide any confidential health care records.
(5) Each District Health Center shall encourage, provide meeting space for, and otherwise facilitate its own Citizen Health Advisory Committee, consisting of individuals such as: current District Health Center patients, community-based health professionals familiar with the special health needs of their neighborhoods, and members of community-based organizations, including churches and schools, and labor unions experienced with neighborhood needs.