Senate Bill No. 529
(By Senators Snyder, Rowe, Boley, Dempsey, Hunter and Love)
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[Originating in the Committee on Labor; reported February 13,
2003.]
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A BILL to amend article eleven, chapter eighteen-b of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
seven, relating to the establishment of the West Virginia
center for nursing; establishing board of directors;
establishing center activities to retain and recruit nurses;
assessing fee to fund center and provide scholarships; and
assuming the duties of the nursing shortage study commission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article eleven, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section seven,
to read as follows:
18B-11-7. West Virginia center for nursing established.
(a) Findings.- The Legislature finds, through the work of the
nursing shortage study commission, that:
(1) It is essential that qualified registered nurses and other
licensed nurses be accessible and available to meet the needs of
patients;
(2) Quality patient care is jeopardized by insufficient
nursing staff that work detrimentally long hours;
(3) The nursing population is aging and shrinking at a
disproportionate rate, with fewer students entering nursing
programs;
(4) Nurses are leaving the profession because of workplace
stresses and lack of respect for their role in the delivery of
health care; and
(5) Recruitment and retention of nurses both play a role in
solving this problem.
(b) Purpose.- The purpose of the Legislature is to establish
the West Virginia center for nursing to address issues of supply
and demand for nurses, including recruitment, retention and
utilization of nurse staffing resources. The primary purpose of
the center shall be to establish a statewide strategic plan to
address the nursing shortage in West Virginia by:
(1) Establishing and maintaining a database of statistical
information regarding nursing supply, demand, and turnover rates in
West Virginia, and future projections;
(2) Coordinating communication between the organizations that
represent nurses, health care providers, businesses, consumers, legislators, and educators to recommend systematic changes to
implement the plan, and to evaluate and report the results of these
efforts to the Legislature; and
(3) Enhancing and promoting recruitment and retention of
nurses by creating reward, recognition, and renewal programs; by
promoting media and positive image building efforts for nursing; by
promoting nursing careers through educational programs, scholarship
programs, programs directed at nontraditional students, and other
workforce initiatives; and by exploring solutions to improve
working environments for nurses to foster recruitment and
retention.
(c) Board of Directors.- The West Virginia center for nursing
shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of thirteen
citizen and three ex-officio members. Board members shall be
appointed by the governor after consultation with the vice
chancellor for health sciences, the speaker of the West Virginia
House of Delegates, the president of the West Virginia Senate, the
West Virginia nurses association, and other professional nursing
associations.
(1) The board shall consist of thirteen members as follows:
one citizen who shall serve an initial term of two years; one
representative from the West Virginia board of examiners for
registered professional nurses, and one representative from the
West Virginia board of examiners for licensed practical nurses; one representative from the West Virginia nurses association; three
registered nurse educators, including one nurse educator from a
school that educates licensed practical nurses, one nurse educator
to represent associate degree programs, and one nurse educator to
represent baccalaureate and higher degree programs, two of whom
shall be appointed to initial terms of two years and one who shall
be appointed to a one year term; three representatives of employers
of nurses including representation by chief nurse executives,
directors of nursing and health care administrators, two of whom
shall be appointed to initial terms of two years and one who shall
be appointed to a one year term; three representatives of
registered professional nurses, including staff nurses in acute and
long term care settings, two of whom shall be appointed to initial
terms of two years and one who shall be appointed to a one year
term; and a designee of the secretary for education and the arts,
a designee of the secretary for the department of health and human
services, and a designee of the governor's workforce development
office, who shall serve as ex-officio members.
(2) After the initial appointments expire, the terms of all
the members shall be three years, with no member serving more than
two consecutive terms. Th board shall designate a chairperson.
Seven members shall constitute a quorum.
(3) The board shall be empowered to employ an executive
director; to determine operational policy;
to seek and accept public and private funding; and
to implement the purposes of the
center as established herein.
(4) The board shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary
expenses incident to the performance of their duties.
(c) Funding.- A special revenue account shall be established
to carry out the purposes of this section under the higher
education policy commission. The account shall be funded by
assessing a supplemental licensure
fee of a minimum of ten dollars
collected annually by the West Virginia board of examiners for
registered professional nurses, and by seeking other public and
private funds. Balances remaining in the account at the end of the
fiscal year shall not expire or revert to the general revenue
account. All costs associated with the administration of the
center shall be paid for from this account under the direction of
the board for the center for nursing.
(e) Continuation and assumption of the nursing shortage study
commission.-The West Virginia center for nursing shall continue
to exist until the first day of July, two thousand eight unless
sooner terminated, continued or reestablished. Further, the center
shall assume the duties of the nursing shortage study commission as
promulgated in section eighteen, article seven, chapter thirty of
this code, which shall then terminate on February 1, 2004.
(f) Center activities.- Duties of the board of the center for
nursing shall include, but not be limited to, the following activities directed at retaining and recruiting nurses, that:
(1) Explore and establish loan repayment and scholarship
programs as part of the public health trust fund, with
participation directed to nurses who remain in state after
graduation and who work in hospitals and other health care
institutions with a critical shortage of nurses. After the center's
first year and in subsequent years thereafter, the equivalent of
one-third of its funding from licensure shall be specifically used
for loan and scholarship programs fees, in additional to any other
funds
;
(2) Establish grants and other programs to provide tax
incentives and other financial incentives for employers to
encourage and assist with nursing education, internships and
residency programs;
(3) Develop incentive and training programs for long term care
facilities and other health care institutions to use self
assessment tools documented to correlate with nurse retention, such
as the magnet hospital program;
(4) Establish a statewide media campaign to recruit students
of all ages and backgrounds to the various nursing programs
throughout West Virginia;
(5) Explore and evaluate the use of year-round and day and
evening nursing training and education programs;
(6) Establish a statewide hotline and website for information about the center and its mission, and nursing careers and
educational opportunities in West Virginia;
(7) Evaluate capacity for expansion of nursing programs,
including the availability of faculty, clinical laboratories,
computers and software, library holdings and supplies;
(8) Oversee development and implementation of education and
matriculation programs for health care providers covering certified
nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, registered
professional nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and other
advanced degrees;
(9) Seek to improve the compensation of all nurses, including
nursing professionals; and
(10) Other activities as directed by its board.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the West Virginia
center for nursing to address the nursing shortage crisis by
fostering educational and scholarship opportunities for nurses.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.