H. B. 2504
(By Delegates Hatfield, Angotti, Doyle,
L. Smith, Susman, Perdue and Compton)
[Introduced February 23, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Government
Organization.]
A BILL to amend article seven, chapter thirty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section eighteen,
relating to creating a nursing shortage study commission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven, chapter thirty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL NURSES.
§30-7-18. Nursing shortage study commission; legislative findings;
members, appointment and expenses; duties.
(a) The Legislature finds the following:
(1) Health care services are becoming complex and it is
increasingly difficult for patients to access integrated services;
(2) Quality of patient care is jeopardized because of
insufficient nursing staff;
(3) To ensure the adequate protection of patients in acute
care settings, it is essential that qualified registered nurses and
other licensed nurses be accessible and available to meet the needs
of patients;
(4) In West Virginia, and across the country, concerns about
an increasing nursing shortage continue to grow;
(5) A number of factors contribute to the growing shortages in
qualified nursing personnel;
(6) The way care is delivered has changed dramatically over
the last decade with more people being treated in outpatient
settings, shorter and more intense lengths of stay in acute and
long-term care settings, and the development of alternatives to
nursing home care;
(7) These changes have led to a number of employment options
becoming available to nurses that did not exist previously, making
it difficult for employers of nurses to recruit and retain
qualified nursing personnel;
(8) Severe cutbacks in the federal Medicare program, state
budgetary pressures related to the Medicaid program and continued
pressure from insurers to reduce their costs and to retrospectively
deny payment for services rendered, have: (A) Made it extremely
difficult for many providers to keep up with other employers in
salaries and benefits and to recruit and retain qualified nursing
personnel; and (B) increased stresses in the work environment;
(9) The increasing reliance on temporary employment agencies
to meet nursing personnel needs further complicates the situation
as continuity of care is disrupted, quality of patient care is
jeopardized, and costs pressures are further increased; and
(10) Because of the multifaceted nature of these problems, it
is critical that all of the interested and affected parties
cooperate and collaborate in the development of solutions.
(b) A nursing shortage study commission shall be created by
the West Virginia board of examiners for registered professional
nurses. The board shall appoint fifteen members to the commission.
The board shall appoint:
(1) One registered nurse who is employed in a school of
nursing in a teaching hospital in this state;
(2) Two individuals who are on the board of examiners for registered professional nurses;
(3) Four individuals that are employed as registered
professional nurses in a hospital and who work primarily providing
direct patient care;
(4) One registered professional nurse who works as a long-term
care nurse in a nursing home and who works primarily providing
direct patient care;
(5) One administrator of a hospital in this state;
(6) One doctoral prepared nurse educator;
(7) One doctoral prepared nurse researcher;
(8) One nursing home administrator; and
(9) Three representatives of the public not currently or
previously employed in hospital, nursing home or for a related
entity.
(d) Members of the commission are not entitled to compensation
for services performed as members, but are entitled to
reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred in the performance of their duties. Eight of the
appointed members is a quorum for the purpose of conducting
business. The board shall designate a chair, who is not a public
official. The commission shall conduct all meetings in accordance with the open meeting law pursuant to article nine-a, chapter six
of this code.
(e) The commission shall:
(1) Study the nursing shortage in West Virginia and ways to
alleviate it, including, but not limited to:
(A) Evaluating mechanisms currently available in the state and
elsewhere intended to enhance education, recruitment, and retention
of nurses in the workforce and to improve quality of care;
(B) Assessing the impact of shortages in nursing personnel on
access to, and the delivery of, quality patient care;
(C) Developing recommendations on, and facilitating
implementation of, strategies to reverse the growing shortage of
qualified nursing personnel in the state, including:
(i) Determining what changes are needed to existing programs,
current scholarship programs and funding mechanisms to better
reflect and accommodate the changing health care delivery
environment and to improve quality of care to meet the needs of
patients;
(ii) Facilitating career advancement within nursing;
(iii) Identifying more accurately specific shortage areas in
a more timely manner;
(iv) Attracting middle and high school students into nursing
as a career; and
(v) Projecting a more positive and professional image of
nursing.
(2) Report to the Legislature by the ninth day of January, two
thousand two, its findings and recommendations.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a nursing shortage
study commission to study the nurse shortage in West Virginia.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.