§ 3551. Legislative findings and purposes. The legislature hereby
finds and declares as follows:

1. The Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a public hospital and medical
research center in Buffalo owned and operated by the state of New York
and its department of health. Roswell Park is the oldest cancer research
and treatment facility in the country and one of the initial three
comprehensive cancer centers designated in the 1971 National Cancer Act.
The Institute's mission from its inception has focused on research and
the translation of research findings to the clinical setting.
Ultimately, advances in prevention, detection, and treatment are
transferred to the wider community through Roswell's leadership in
national clinical trials, publications, medical training programs, and
extensive outreach efforts to communities and hospitals across New York
state.

2. Roswell Park also has a significant direct and indirect impact on
the economy of Western New York.

3. From its founding in eighteen hundred ninety-eight, Roswell Park's
contribution to New York's public health care system has been
unparalleled.

4. The Institute has focused its scientific programs through the
reallocation of resources and new emphasis being placed in the areas of
immunology, structural biology and molecular genetics and genetic
epidemiology. The advanced cancer care and specialized treatment
modalities provided by Roswell Park are available at few other
institutions in the country. These new cancer treatment techniques,
therapies and inventions developed at Roswell Park have generated many
of the basic therapies used today to treat cancer and have improved the
cure rate of childhood cancer and certain common cancers including
prostate, colorectal and some skin cancers.

5. The combination of basic medical research with advanced clinical
treatment practiced at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is unique, and the
proper discharge of the research and education functions of the
Institute requires that these functions continue to be partnered with
state of the art clinical treatment capabilities.

6. New York state has made a strong commitment to maintaining the
international leadership of Roswell Park. Two hundred forty-one million
five hundred thousand dollars in bonds were issued for the major
modernization project which will culminate in a new campus in nineteen
hundred ninety-eight, the Institute's centennial year. Ultimately, the
major modernization is designed to create an integrated and modern
campus to meet the needs of a progressive, high technology cancer
research and treatment center well into the twenty-first century.

7. However, this tangible commitment has occurred while the health
care industry has experienced revolutionary changes which have
significantly impacted health care in New York. For instance, the
penetration of managed care and the formation of at least three large
health care delivery systems in Western New York pose new competitive
challenges for Roswell Park Cancer Institute. In order to meet the
demands of the changing health care marketplace and to promote the
strengths and capabilities of Roswell Park, the legislature concludes
that the needs of the residents of the state of New York are best served
by a change in the Institute's governance structure to afford it legal,
financial, market and managerial flexibility.

8. Therefore, with the enactment of this legislation it is the intent
of the legislature for Roswell Park to pursue its mission well into the
twenty-first century, to retain its international leadership in
specialized cancer therapies and to reinforce its already strong
commitment to the greater Western New York community it serves and to
continue to treat patients without regard to their ability to pay. The
creation of the Roswell Park Corporation, as provided in this act, is in
all respects for the public benefit of the people of New York, is a
public purpose, and the exercise by such corporation of its functions,
powers and duties constitutes the performance of an essential public and
governmental function. The powers and authority granted by this act
shall be construed to afford the Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Corporation the flexibility required to accomplish its mission.

9. The legislature further finds and declares that the employees of
the Roswell Park Cancer Institute have contributed to the success of its
cancer research and treatment efforts, and will continue to be critical
to its future success. Therefore, the provisions of this act which
provide for civil service coverage, collective bargaining rights,
retirement rights and other employee protections shall be construed to
ensure that the rights of employees are protected.