N.Y. Medical Care Facilities Finance Agency 392/73 § 2: Declaration of policy and statement of purposes

§ 2. Declaration of policy and statement of purposes. The protection

and promotion of the health of the inhabitants of the state are matters

of public concern. In furtherance of this purpose, it is the policy of

the state to encourage the prompt and efficient provision of health and

health-related services at a reasonable cost by the private and public

sectors in modern, well-equipped health facilities accessible to the

communities to be served.

The leglislature has heretofore found that a serious shortage of safe

and sanitary nursing home accommodations exists in many communities

throughout the state; that many hospitals and other health facilities

throughout the state are no longer adequate to meet the needs of modern

medicine; that such inadequate and outmoded facilities deny to the

people of the state the benefits of health care of the highest quality

and that their replacement and modernization is essential to protect and

prolong the lives of the state's population. The legislature has

heretofore found and declared that the accomplishment of these purposes

cannot be readily achieved by the ordinary unaided operation of private

enterprise and to this end has constituted and empowered the New York

state housing finance agency, a multi-purpose corporate governmental

agency of the state, to obtain funds through the issuance of its notes

and bonds to finance the construction, acquisition, reconstruction,

rehabilitation and improvement of a broad array of health facilities in

addition to issuing its notes and bonds to carry out other program

responsibilities which touch on the quality of life for the vast

majority of the state's residents, including the providing of housing

for persons of low income, higher educational facilities for the state

university of New York, mental health facilities, child care facilities

and facilities for the care of senior citizens.

The public purposes heretofore enumerated have not yet been fully

accomplished despite the significant investment of funds through the New

York state housing finance agency in the construction of hospitals,

nursing homes and health-related facilities.

In order to permit an acceleration in the implementation of these

programs in areas where the public need remains urgent, without

jeopardizing the orderly marketing by the New York state housing finance

agency of its notes and bonds for other program purposes, it is hereby

found and declared that a separate corporate governmental agency, to be

known as the "New York state medical care facilities finance agency,"

should be created as a single purpose agency to act in concert with the

New York state housing finance agency and to devote its entire energy

and resources to the provision of additional funds for the construction

of health and health-related facilities by nursing home companies

created pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-eight-A of the

public health law, by hospitals and non-profit medical corporations

constituting eligible borrowers pursuant to the provisions of article

twenty-eight-B of the public health law and by municipalities

constituting social services districts pursuant to the provisions of the

health and mental hygiene facilities improvement act. In this manner,

the broadest possible base of investment by the greatest number of the

general public may be had and the initiative and strength of our private

enterprise economy may most readily be harnessed for the benefit of the

people of the state.

Prompt provision of well-equipped, modern hospitals, schools and other

facilities related to the care, maintenance and treatment of mentally

ill and developmentally disabled persons is also needed in the state. In

order to encourage the investment of private capital in such hospitals,

schools and other mental health services facilities and to assure their

timely construction, acquisition, reconstruction, rehabilitation and

improvement, or the refinancing thereof, the New York state medical care

facilities finance agency should be empowered, through the issuance of

its bonds, notes or other obligations to the private investing public,

to obtain all or a portion of the funds necessary to finance the same

and to meet the needs of patients and staff at such facilities.

It is frequently appropriate to combine and coordinate the

development, rehabilitation and provision of housing with the

development, rehabilitation and provision of health and health related

facilities such as intermediate care, skilled nursing, aged treatment,

and hospice facilities for which there is also a need. In order to

encourage the investment of private capital in non-profit housing and

health facilities, and to assure the expeditious completion of such

facilities, the New York state medical care facilities finance agency

should be empowered, through the issuance of its bonds, notes or other

obligations to the private investing public, to obtain funds necessary

to finance loans, for the construction, acquisition, reconstruction,

rehabilitation or improvement of such facilities.