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1. On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," thereby initiating the most significant change to the health care delivery system that the United States has experienced in forty years. As the City and County of San Francisco ("City") works to implement this monumental law, it is an opportune moment to engage in a comprehensive planning effort for health care services in the City.
2. Section of the City Charter ("Charter") provides that the Department of Public Health and Health Commission shall provide for the preservation, promotion and protection of the physical and mental health of the inhabitants of the City and County of San Francisco.
3. Section of the Charter provides that the Planning Commission create and maintain a General Plan consisting of goals, policies and programs for the future development of the City and County that take into consideration social, economic and environmental factors.
4. Section 127340(a) of the California Health and Safety Code provides that "private not-for-profit hospitals meet certain needs of their communities through the provision of essential healthcare and other services. Public recognition of their unique status has led to favorable tax treatment by the government. In exchange, nonprofit hospitals assume a social obligation to provide community benefits in the public interests."
5. Implementation of Ordinance 279-07, requiring the Department of Public Health to analyze the relationship between the City's long term health care needs and facility planning for medical institutions, has revealed the need for a City-wide Health Care Services Master Plan so that the Planning Department has a tool to analyze individual institutional planning against a more comprehensive City plan.
6. A Health Care Services Master Plan will provide the Health Commission, the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors with information and public policy recommendations to guide their decisions to promote the City's land use and policy goals developed in such Plan, such as distribution and access to health care services.
7. A Health Care Services Master Plan will also provide the Health Commission, the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors with information essential to disaster planning for the City.
8. The San Francisco Department of Public Health is well situated to create a Health Care Services Master Plan, as it can draw upon the innovative work of Building a Healthier San Francisco, including "The Living Community Needs Assessment" which is an up-to-date, web-based, compilation of data about community health in neighborhoods throughout the City.
(Added by Ord. 300-10, File No. 101057)