Bill 468.

Summary.

The bill would establish the Board of Trustees of the Integrated Multimodal Hospital of the Province of Colón (Patronato del Hospital Multimodal Integrado de la Provincia de Colón) in the six-story building of the current Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero Hospital Complex, at Calle 11 and Avenida Paseo Gorgas in the city of Colón. The Board would be a nonprofit entity serving the public and social interest, with legal personality, its own assets, and administrative, economic, financial, and operational autonomy, coordinated with the MINSA-CSS integrated health system. Its work would follow principles of quality, commitment, confidentiality, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, probity, solidarity, transparency, universal access, and unified resources for insured and uninsured patients. It would administer the hospital, preserve its facilities and property, and provide administrative services supporting patient care.

Its assets would include state funds, subsidies, contributions, donations, bequests, administrative movable property, and proceeds from other activities. Private contributions would be deductible for income tax purposes under the Tax Code (Código Fiscal). The building and improvements would come under the Board’s custody and administration but would remain the property of the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social) and outside the Board’s assets. The Board would bear the operating costs of caring for, maintaining, and improving the building, equipment, and instruments. Funding would also include service income and other sources recognized by law. The Board would be exempt from national taxes and charges; municipal exemptions would require a municipal agreement, and it would have the State’s privileges in judicial proceedings.

The governing board would include the Minister of Health, the Director General of the Social Security Fund, the Governor of the Province of Colón, and representatives of the Colón Free Zone, its users, the Colón Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, hospital patients or users, and civic organizations in the province of Colón. The Comptroller General’s Office (Contraloría General de la República), the Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo), the medical director, and representatives of ethnic groups and hospital employees would have speaking rights. The governing board would meet at least monthly and decide by absolute majority, with its president breaking ties. The bill governs members’ terms and selection, alternates, family relationship restrictions, and grounds for leaving office; members would serve without pay. The Minister of Health would chair and legally represent the Board of Trustees, while the governing board would elect its other officers annually. The Social Security Fund would appoint the hospital’s chief medical director.

The Board of Trustees would organize administration, regulate administrative and trust staff and procurement, create committees, develop information systems, secure funding, approve and execute its budget, and authorize expenditures, including additional and urgent spending under the amounts and procedures in Article 18. It would maintain internal auditing, submit financial, service, and cost reports to the Comptroller General’s Office, publish an annual report, define its working relationship with the Social Security Fund, and compensate that institution for use of the building. It would also issue its general regulations and position manual, participate in evaluations, and promote hospital accreditation.

A Council of Directors composed of medical service heads and chaired by the medical director would advise on medical matters and address the scientific work and research program. Medical, administrative, and technical support staff of the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) and the Social Security Fund would remain on their respective institutions’ payrolls and retain present and future employment rights; the Board of Trustees could appoint administrative trust staff. General regulations would cover remaining internal matters, and the proposed law would take effect the day after promulgation. The bill concerns the Ministry of Health, Social Security Fund, and Comptroller General’s Office, as well as patients, health personnel, civic organizations, commerce, and donors in Colón.