§ 3551 — Legislative findings and purposes

§ 3551. Legislative findings and purposes. The legislature hereby\nfinds and declares as follows:\n 1. The Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a public hospital and medical\nresearch center in Buffalo owned and operated by the state of New York\nand its department of health. Roswell Park is the oldest cancer research\nand treatment facility in the country and one of the initial three\ncomprehensive cancer centers designated in the 1971 National Cancer Act.\nThe Institute's mission from its inception has focused on research and\nthe translation of research findings to the clinical setting.\nUltimately, advances in prevention, detection, and treatment are\ntransferred to the wider community through Roswell's leadership in\nnational clinical trials, publications, medical training programs, and\nextensive outreach efforts to communities and hospitals across New York\nstate.\n 2. Roswell Park also has a significant direct and indirect impact on\nthe economy of Western New York.\n 3. From its founding in eighteen hundred ninety-eight, Roswell Park's\ncontribution to New York's public health care system has been\nunparalleled.\n 4. The Institute has focused its scientific programs through the\nreallocation of resources and new emphasis being placed in the areas of\nimmunology, structural biology and molecular genetics and genetic\nepidemiology. The advanced cancer care and specialized treatment\nmodalities provided by Roswell Park are available at few other\ninstitutions in the country. These new cancer treatment techniques,\ntherapies and inventions developed at Roswell Park have generated many\nof the basic therapies used today to treat cancer and have improved the\ncure rate of childhood cancer and certain common cancers including\nprostate, colorectal and some skin cancers.\n 5. The combination of basic medical research with advanced clinical\ntreatment practiced at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is unique, and the\nproper discharge of the research and education functions of the\nInstitute requires that these functions continue to be partnered with\nstate of the art clinical treatment capabilities.\n 6. New York state has made a strong commitment to maintaining the\ninternational leadership of Roswell Park. Two hundred forty-one million\nfive hundred thousand dollars in bonds were issued for the major\nmodernization project which will culminate in a new campus in nineteen\nhundred ninety-eight, the Institute's centennial year. Ultimately, the\nmajor modernization is designed to create an integrated and modern\ncampus to meet the needs of a progressive, high technology cancer\nresearch and treatment center well into the twenty-first century.\n 7. However, this tangible commitment has occurred while the health\ncare industry has experienced revolutionary changes which have\nsignificantly impacted health care in New York. For instance, the\npenetration of managed care and the formation of at least three large\nhealth care delivery systems in Western New York pose new competitive\nchallenges for Roswell Park Cancer Institute. In order to meet the\ndemands of the changing health care marketplace and to promote the\nstrengths and capabilities of Roswell Park, the legislature concludes\nthat the needs of the residents of the state of New York are best served\nby a change in the Institute's governance structure to afford it legal,\nfinancial, market and managerial flexibility.\n 8. Therefore, with the enactment of this legislation it is the intent\nof the legislature for Roswell Park to pursue its mission well into the\ntwenty-first century, to retain its international leadership in\nspecialized cancer therapies and to reinforce its already strong\ncommitment to the greater Western New York community it serves and to\ncontinue to treat patients without regard to their ability to pay. The\ncreation of the Roswell Park Corporation, as provided in this act, is in\nall respects for the public benefit of the people of New York, is a\npublic purpose, and the exercise by such corporation of its functions,\npowers and duties constitutes the performance of an essential public and\ngovernmental function. The powers and authority granted by this act\nshall be construed to afford the Roswell Park Cancer Institute\nCorporation the flexibility required to accomplish its mission.\n 9. The legislature further finds and declares that the employees of\nthe Roswell Park Cancer Institute have contributed to the success of its\ncancer research and treatment efforts, and will continue to be critical\nto its future success. Therefore, the provisions of this act which\nprovide for civil service coverage, collective bargaining rights,\nretirement rights and other employee protections shall be construed to\nensure that the rights of employees are protected.\n