As a result of legislation adopted in the 1960 Session, the administrative functions of two temporary State health agencies, the Interdepartmental Health Resources Board and the Joint Hospital Survey and Planning Commission, will be transferred to the State Departments of Health and Mental Hygiene. To provide a vehicle for the continued exchange of information and for cooperative study and action by the State agencies with responsibilities in the fields of health and hospital care, I hereby establish an Interdepartmental Health and Hospital Council which shall consist of the Commissioners of Health, Social Welfare, Mental Hygiene, Education, and Insurance. The chairman of the Council shall be elected by the members and the chairmanship rotated annually.
This Council is hereby assigned the following functions and activities:
Health areas to be studied shall include, but not be limited to rehabilitation, health services for the aging, alcoholism, narcotic addiction, mental retardation, emotional disturbances of children, standards of hospital facilities and services, methods of financing hospital care, and others as may be assigned by the Governor.
The Council may appoint such committees, as may be indicated, consisting of specialists from the individual departments or agencies concerned. Each committee shall choose its own chairman who will be responsible for guiding the work of the committee, maintaining its records and preparing reports for the Council.
The Department of Health shall provide from among its employees the staff services for the Council and the committees.
The staff functions shall include the following:
The Council may request any department or agency represented on the Council to provide such resources, including personnel, assistance and data, as will enable the Council properly to carry out its activities.
The experimental work of the Interdepartmental Health Resources Board and the Joint Hospital Survey and Planning Commission have helped New York State maintain its leadership in the fields of health and hospital care. The programs, which proved their worth, will not be continued by the regular State departments. I look to the Interdepartmental Health and Hospital Council to continue this progress through the joint efforts of its member departments which are directly concerned with the health of our people.
Signed: Nelson A. Rockefeller
Dated: March 31, 1960
Footnotes
1 Superseded by Executive Order No. 6.2, infra, following § 3.6.
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 1.1