Senate Bill No. 259
(By Senators Hunter, Dempsey and Unger)
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[Introduced February 23, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §30-7B-4, §30-7B-8 and §30-7B-10 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
directing funds from the Center for Nursing Fund to loan
forgiveness programs; continuing the Center for Nursing until
2013; and requiring the Center for Nursing to collect
information on workers' compensation-related injuries.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-7B-4, §30-7B-8 and §30-7B-10 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 7B. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.
§30-7B-4. Center's powers and duties.
The West Virginia center for nursing shall have the following
powers and duties:
(1) Establish a statewide strategic plan to address the
nursing shortage in West Virginia;
(2) Establish and maintain a database of statistical
information regarding nursing supply, demand and turnover rates in
West Virginia and future projections;
(3) Coordinate communication between the organizations that
represent nurses, health care providers, businesses, consumers,
legislators and educators;
(4) Enhance and promote recruitment and retention of nurses by
creating reward, recognition and renewal programs;
(5) Promote media and positive image building efforts for
nursing, including establishing a statewide media campaign to
recruit students of all ages and backgrounds to the various nursing
programs throughout West Virginia;
(6) Promote nursing careers through educational and
scholarship programs, programs directed at nontraditional students
and other workforce initiatives;
(7) Explore solutions to improve working environments for
nurses to foster recruitment and retention;
(8) Explore and establish loan repayment and scholarship
programs designed to benefit nurses who remain in West Virginia
after graduation and work in hospitals and other health care
institutions;
(9) Establish grants and other programs to provide financial incentives for employers to encourage and assist with nursing
education, internships and residency programs;
(10) 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;
(11) Explore and evaluate the use of year-round day, evening
and weekend nursing training and education programs;
(12) Establish a statewide hotline and website for information
about the center and its mission and nursing careers and
educational opportunities in West Virginia;
(13) Evaluate capacity for expansion of nursing programs,
including the availability of faculty, clinical laboratories,
computers and software, library holdings and supplies;
(14) 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;
(15) Seek to improve the compensation of all nurses, including
nursing educators; and
(16) Collect data regarding workers' compensation claims and
the injuries related thereto; and
(16) (17) Perform such other activities as needed to alleviate the nursing shortage in West Virginia.
§30-7B-8. Special revenue account.
(a) A special revenue account known as the "center for nursing
fund" is hereby established in the State Treasury to be
administered by the board to carry out the purposes of this
article.
(b) The account shall be funded by:
(1) Assessing all nurses licensed by the board of examiners
for registered professional nurses, pursuant to section eight-a,
article seven of this chapter, and the board of examiners for
licensed practical nurses, pursuant to section seven-a, article
seven-a of this chapter, a supplemental licensure fee not to exceed
ten dollars per year; and
(2) Other public and private funds.
(c) Beginning the first day of January, two thousand six, and
continuing at least two years, a minimum of an equivalent of one
third of the funding from the annual supplemental licensure fees
shall be used for loan, loan forgiveness and scholarship programs.
§30-7B-10. Continuation.
The West Virginia center for nursing shall continue to exist
until the first day of July, two thousand eight thirteen, unless
sooner terminated, continued or reestablished pursuant to the
provisions of article ten, chapter four of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to direct funds from the
center for nursing fund to loan forgiveness programs; continue the
center for nursing until 2013; and require the center for nursing
to collect information on workers' compensation related injuries.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.