* § 243. Health equity council.
1.Appointment of members. There shall\nbe established in the office of health equity a health equity council to\nconsist of the commissioner and fourteen members to be appointed by the\ngovernor with the advice and consent of the senate. Membership on the\ncouncil shall be reflective of the diversity of the state's population\nincluding, but not limited to, the various underserved populations\nthroughout the state.\n 2. Terms of office; vacancies.
a.Unless specified otherwise in the\nbylaws of the health equity council, the terms of office of members of\nthe health equity council may be up to six years. The members of the\nhealth equity council shall continue in office until the expiration of\ntheir terms and until their successors are appointed and hav
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* § 243. Health equity council. 1. Appointment of members. There shall\nbe established in the office of health equity a health equity council to\nconsist of the commissioner and fourteen members to be appointed by the\ngovernor with the advice and consent of the senate. Membership on the\ncouncil shall be reflective of the diversity of the state's population\nincluding, but not limited to, the various underserved populations\nthroughout the state.\n 2. Terms of office; vacancies. a. Unless specified otherwise in the\nbylaws of the health equity council, the terms of office of members of\nthe health equity council may be up to six years. The members of the\nhealth equity council shall continue in office until the expiration of\ntheir terms and until their successors are appointed and have qualified.\nSuch appointments shall be made by the governor, with the advice and\nconsent of the senate, within one year following the expiration of such\nterms.\n b. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the\nunexpired terms within one year of the date upon which such vacancies\noccur. Any vacancy existing on the effective date of paragraph c of this\nsubdivision shall be filled by appointment within one year of such\neffective date.\n c. In making appointments to the council, the governor shall seek to\nensure that membership on the council reflects the diversity of the\nstate's population including, but not limited to the various underserved\npopulations throughout the state.\n 3. Meetings. a. The health equity council shall meet as frequently as\nits business may require, and at least twice in each year.\n b. The governor shall designate one of the members of the public\nhealth and health planning council as its chair.\n c. A majority of the appointed voting membership of the health equity\ncouncil shall constitute a quorum.\n 4. Compensation and expenses. The members of the council shall serve\nwithout compensation other than reimbursement of actual and necessary\nexpenses.\n 5. Powers and duties. The health equity council shall, at the request\nof the commissioner, consider any matter relating to the preservation\nand improvement of health status among the state's underserved\npopulations, and may advise the commissioner on any recommendations\nrelating to the preservation and improvement of health equity.\n 6. Sickle cell disease. a. The health equity council shall consider,\nand advise the commissioner regarding sickle cell disease.\n b. The council shall issue recommendations to the commissioner to\npromote screening and detection of sickle cell disease, especially among\nunserved or underserved populations; to educate the public regarding\nsickle cell disease and the benefits of early detection; and to provide\ncounseling and referral services. For purposes of this subdivision,\n"unserved or underserved populations" means people having inadequate\naccess and financial resources to obtain sickle cell disease screening\nand detection services, including people who lack health coverage or\nwhose health coverage is inadequate or who cannot meet the financial\nrequirements of their coverage for accessing detection services.\n c. The council shall consider the feasibility of the following:\n (i) the establishment of a statewide public education and outreach\ncampaign to publicize evidence based sickle cell disease screening,\ndetection and education services. The campaign shall include: general\ncommunity education, outreach to specific underserved populations,\nevidence based clinical sickle cell disease screening services, and an\ninformational summary that shall include an explanation of the\nimportance of clinical examinations and what to expect during clinical\nexaminations and sickle cell disease screening services;\n (ii) the provision of grants to approved organizations;\n (iii) the compilation of data concerning sickle cell disease and\ndissemination of such data to the public; and\n (iv) the development of health care professional education programs\nincluding the benefits of early detection of sickle cell disease and\nclinical examinations, the recommended frequency of clinical\nexaminations and sickle cell disease screening services, and\nprofessionally recognized best practices guidelines.\n * NB There are 2 § 243's\n