H. B. 4128
(By Delegates Mezzatesta, Williams and Anderson)
[Introduced January 29, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
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 a committee
on recruitment and retention within the rural health care
advisory panel contained in section six, article sixteen,
chapter eighteen-b of said code; including 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; and requiring
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, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. HEALTH CARE EDUCATION.
§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) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 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 health care providers, consumers,
members of the advisory panel and 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 providers to serve the state of West
Virginia.
(2) The responsibility for and coordination of primary care
physician recruitment and retention efforts shall include, but is
not limited to, working cooperatively with health care agencies
and economic development agencies 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-eight, and no less than annually
thereafter, a report of its findings to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability. This 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
recruitment and retention committee or the rural health care
advisory panel deems relevant to carrying out the intent of this
article.
NOTE:The purpose of this bill is to reorganize the
state's recruitment and retention efforts for health care
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 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.