HB 343

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to racial and ethnic minority health care;
3	requiring the Department of Health to develop and
4	implement plans relating to effective community outreach
5	and to increasing the number of racial and ethnic minority
6	health care professionals; requiring the department to
7	collaborate with universities, colleges, and others on
8	development of courses on cultural competency,
9	sensitivity, and health literacy; requiring the department
10	to require additional curriculum content for continuing
11	education courses for health care professionals; providing
12	an effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  Racial and ethnic minority health care.--The
17	Department of Health shall:
18	(1)  Develop and implement a statewide plan for effective
19	outreach to racial and ethnic minority communities throughout
20	the state to ensure their maximum participation in publicly
21	funded health benefits programs.
22	(2)  Develop and implement a statewide plan for increasing
23	the number of racial and ethnic minority health care
24	professionals, including recommendations for the financing
25	mechanisms and recruitment strategies necessary to carry out the
26	plan.
27	(3)  Work collaboratively with universities and colleges of
28	medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and other health care
29	professional training programs to develop courses on cultural
30	competency, sensitivity, and health literacy that are designed
31	to address the problem of racial and ethnic disparities in
32	health care access, utilization, treatment decisions, quality,
33	and outcomes.
34	(4)  By July 1, 2010, require the curriculum of each health
35	care continuing education course to include cultural competency,
36	sensitivity, and health literacy in the respective practice of
37	the health care profession.
38	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.