Legal Authority:

Kern Health Systems, a special county health authority, was established by Board of Supervisors Ordinance G-6155 on December 6, 1994, added Chapter 2.94 to the County Ordinance Code; Ordinance G-6420, enacted on August 4, 1997, named the Health Authority "Kern Health Systems" dba "Kern Family Health Care"; On June 21, 2005, Ordinance G-7256, added Chapter 2.145 to the County Ordinance Code and created a special county health authority known as "Kern Health Systems Group Health Plan" whose governing board would consist of the same individuals appointed to Kern Health Systems, Board of Directors; Ordinance G-6716, enacted September 5, 2000, Ordinance G-7431, enacted August 15, 2006, and Ordinance G-7669, enacted February 12, 2008 amended Governing Board member specifications; Ordinances G-7705 and G-7706 enacted April 29, 2008 and re-enacted May 6, 2008, amended number of members; Ordinance G-7793, effective November 27,2008, changed composition of the governing body of the County Health Authority; Ordinance G-8017, effective April 8, 2010, staggered terms and placed term limits; Ordinance G-8132, effective April 21, 2011, added five additional Community Representative members.

Membership Qualifications:

The Kern Health Systems Board of Directors shall be made up of sixteen (16) members consisting of • the Chief Executive Officer of Kern Medical Center • one (1) Safety net care provider • ten (10) Community representatives with two (2) being nominated by each of the five (5) Supervisors • two (2) Traditional Medi-Cal primary care physicians (one from Bakersfield and one from outside of Bakersfield) • one (1) Representative of a rural acute care general hospital within Kern County • one (1) Pharmacist Members shall have attained the age of twenty-one (21) and shall either work or reside in the County of Kern at the time of their appointment.

Term:

Each member of the governing board shall hold office for a term of three years and until the appointment and qualification of his or her successor. Members may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms. Members who have served a maximum of three consecutive terms are eligible to be appointed for an additional three terms after a period of at least three years after last serving on the governing board. The terms of the governing board shall be staggered; a member may be removed at any time if he or she no longer represents the interests of the group he or she was appointed to represent, if he or she is absent from three consecutive regular meetings of the governing board without permission of the governing board's presiding officer, for any reason that would constitute grounds for the removal of a local agency public officer, or on recommendation of two-thirds of the members of the governing board; a vacancy on the governing board shall exist in the case of the death, resignation, removal, or disability of a member. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the Board of Supervisors in the manner provided in chapter 2.94 of the Kern County Ordinance Code; the governing board may adopt bylaws and rules consistent with this chapter to govern the conduct of matters before the governing board and the health authority's affairs.

Duties:

It shall be the responsibility of the Board to • establish and operate a comprehensive managed care system to provide health care services • meet the problems of the delivery of publicly assisted medical care in Kern County • demonstrate ways of promoting quality care and cost efficiency • negotiate and enter into contracts authorized by Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14087.38 • to arrange for the provision of health care services provided pursuant to Chapter 7, of Part 3, of Division 9 (commencing with Section 14000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code • do all things reasonably related or incidental to those purposes

Meeting Place and Time:

Kern Health Systems Office 2900 Buck Owens Boulevard Bakersfield, CA Bi-monthly on the second Thursday of each month at 8:00 A.M. For meeting date and time information, call (661) 664-5000.

Compensation:

None except cost of transportation and reasonable expense as necessary.

Ethics Training:

Pursuant to State law, on or after January 1, 2006, any person newly appointed shall successfully complete a course in ethics training approved by the Fair Political Practices Commission and Attorney General. Each member is required to complete this training every two years.

Contact:

Kern Health Systems
2900 Buck Owens Boulevard
Bakersfield, CA 93308
(661) 664-5000

Required Documents/Training:

• Loyalty Oath required
• Form 700 (Statement of Economic Interests) required; filed with Agency
• Ethics training required; training provided by Agency