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            A. The legislature hereby finds and declares the following:

            (1) A large percentage of persons suffering from sickle cell disease in this state are not in specialty care, even though the health consequences of going without such care may be fatal.

            (2) Insufficient access to specialty care is a major barrier to overall health care for persons suffering from sickle cell disease.

            (3) The purpose of this Section is to provide for a program to increase statewide access to the types of specialty care that are critical to the health and well-being of sickle cell patients.

            B. The Sickle Cell Patient Navigator Program, referred to hereafter in this Section as “the program”, is hereby established. The program shall operate in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

            C. The functions of the program shall include, without limitation, all of the following:

            (1) Training of patient navigators to serve as outreach coordinators, coordinators of family educational sessions, and patient case managers.

            (2) Establishing and strengthening a continuum of care for each sickle cell patient served by the program and for the families of those patients.

            (3) Identifying and contacting sickle cell patients, conducting home visits with patients and their family members, and coordinating patient care.

            (4) Facilitating collaboration among healthcare providers that serve sickle cell patients.

            (5) Delivering public health education on sickle cell disease and treatment.

            D. The Louisiana Department of Health shall administer the program under the direction of the Louisiana Sickle Cell Commission placed within the department by the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 36:259(B)(11).

            E. This Section and the Sickle Cell Patient Navigator Program shall not be implemented or operational until monies have been appropriated by the legislature sufficient to fully fund these provisions.

            Acts 2015, No. 387, §§1, 2; Acts 2022, No. 623, §5, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2022, No. 647, §§2, 4B; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 40:1081.8.