H. B. 2874
(By Delegates Spencer, C. White, Shelton, Boggs, Anderson, Hall and Gillespie)
(Originating in the Committee on Education)
[April 1, 1997]
A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article sixteen, chapter
eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to enabling the rural
health advisory panel and vice chancellor of health sciences
to assume statewide and inter agency as well as intra agency
responsibility for and coordination of primary care physician
and other health care provider recruitment and retention
efforts; including the creation of the rural health advisory
panel A within the rural health care advisory panel contained
in section six, article sixteen, chapter eighteen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one as
amended; to include more representatives from health care
providers, consumers and community leaders for purposes of
addressing the requirements of this article as amended herein;
providing an annual report to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability which shall address the success of such recruitment and retention efforts;
recommendations for improvements in all related areas of
recruitment and retention efforts, as well as permission to
work cooperatively with all agencies involved in the economic
development of the state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article sixteen, chapter eighteen-b of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, beu further amended and reenacted by adding thereto one new section, designated subsection six(g) to read as follows:
§18B-16-6. Creation of the West Virginia rural health advisory
panel.
(a) The West Virginia rural health advisory panel is hereby
created and the rural health initiative advisory panel is hereby
terminated as of the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-five. The advisory panel, which shall be appointed by the
governor after consulting with the vice chancellor, shall consist
of one community representative from each of the consortia of
primary health care education sites; five members shall be rural
health care providers, two of whom shall be representatives of
rural health care facilities selected from such lists as may be
submitted by associations interested or involved in the provision
of rural health care, two of whom shall be physicians engaged in
the private practice of rural medicine, and one of whom shall be an
advanced nurse practitioner or a nurse midwife with experience in rural health care delivery; the dean or designee from each of the
participating health sciences schools, ex officio; one
representative from private colleges; one representative from the
state college system; one site coordinator; the commissioner of
public health, ex officio; and the director of the office of
community and rural health services, ex officio. Except for the ex
officio members, members of the panel shall serve for staggered
three-year terms: Provided, That one third of the initial
appointments shall be designated by the governor for one-year terms
and one third of the initial appointments shall be designated by
the governor for two-year terms.
Members of the advisory panel shall be reimbursed for the cost
of reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the
performance of their duties: Provided, That members of the panel
who are employed by the state of West Virginia shall not be
reimbursed for their expenses under the provisions of this section.
(b) The functions and duties of the panel are to recommend
policies and procedures to the vice chancellor related to the rural
health initiative and to oversee and coordinate implementation of
those policies and procedures.
(c) Pursuant to the provisions of article ten, chapter four of
this code, the West Virginia rural health advisory panel shall
continue to exist until the first day of July, two thousand one, to
allow for the completion of a preliminary performance review by the joint committee on government operations.
(d) The advisory panel has the power and the duty to recommend
rural health care facilities to be established as primary health
care education sites. Such recommendation shall be made to the
vice chancellor in accordance with the criteria set forth in
section seven of this article. After review of the proposals
submitted to the vice chancellor by the schools of medicine
pursuant to section eight of this article, the panel's
recommendation shall include an estimation of the costs to be
allocated per site from available funds in the university of West
Virginia health sciences account in the line item designated for
rural health initiative site support.
(e) The advisory panel shall adopt guidelines regarding the
application by rural health care facilities for selection as
primary health care education sites and shall approve an
application form which provides the panel with sufficient
information to consider the criteria set forth in section eight of
this article. The guidelines and application shall be sent by
registered mail to each rural health care facility in the state as
soon as practicable after the effective date of this section.
(f) The advisory panel shall provide an ongoing evaluation of
the rural health initiative and shall make the reports required
under this article.
(g) Not withstanding any other provision of the code to the contrary, for purposes of addressing primary care physician and
other health care provider recruitment and retention efforts, there
is hereby created within the rural health advisory panel, a
committee on recruitment and retention, which shall include member
representatives of the health science schools to be selected by the
vice chancellor for health sciences in conjunction with the
director of the office of community and rural health.
(1) The recruitment and retention committee and the vice
chancellor of health sciences, in conjunction with the director of
the office of community and rural health services, are hereby
empowered to assume statewide and inter agency coordination of the
recruitment and retention of primary care physician and other
health care related provides to serve the state of West Virginia.
(2) Ssuch responsibility for and coordination of primary care
physician recruitment and retention efforts shall include, but is
not limited to, working cooperatively with all agencies involved in
the economic development of the state.
(3) As part of its duties, the recruitment and retention
committee shall provide by the thirty-first day of December, one
thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven, and no less than annually
thereafter, a report of its findings to the Llegislative oversight
commission on education accountability. Such report shall address
the success of the state's primary care physician and other health
care related provider recruitment and retention efforts, recommendations for improvements in all related areas of
recruitment and retention efforts, recommendations for statutory or
regulatory changes, as well as any other matters which the rural
health advisory panel A deems relevant to carrying out the intent
of this article.
NOTE:The purpose of this bill is to better organize the
state's recruitment and retention efforts for health car providers.
To achieve this objective there is created within the rural health
advisory panel an additional panel headed by the vice chancellor
for health sciences and the director of the office of community and rural health to coordinate, prioritize, create and develop any and
all additional ways to meet the objectives of this article
Strike throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.