The Legislature finds and declares: The ongoing evolution of the health care environment requires public entities providing or arranging health care services to pursue innovative health care delivery models that proactively improve the quality of patient care services and patient experience, efficiently and effectively increase access to needed health care services across the care continuum, provide services in a patient-centered manner, and moderate the rate of growth of health care expenditures. The board of supervisors of the County of Kern has determined that providing access to affordable, high-quality health care services, and ensuring the full engagement and viability of the health care safety net in the county are essential for improving the health status of the people of the County of Kern. To further this imperative, it is necessary that the Kern Medical Center, while continuing as a designated public hospital and maintaining its mission, is provided with an organizational and operational structure that facilitates and improves its ability to function with flexibility, responsiveness, and innovation to promote a patient-centric system of care delivery featuring community-based care. This can best be accomplished by allowing the operation of the Kern Medical Center, along with other health-related resources, under a new hospital authority that is able to pursue efforts towards a delivery system that embraces population health management strategies, is effectively positioned for health plan-provider alignment, and maximizes
opportunities for employees and enhancement of staff morale.