§ 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.