Bill Text: VA HB191 | 2022 | Regular Session | Conference Sub
Bill Title: Health Workforce Development; creates position of Special Advisor to the Governor.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-12 - Continued to 2022 Sp. Sess. 1 pursuant to HJR455 [HB191 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2022-HB191-Conference_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. §1. That the Secretaries of Commerce and Trade, Education, Health and Human Resources, and Labor shall:
1. Catalogue existing health workforce development resources, programming, staffing, and funding provided by agencies within their secretariat in order to support coordination of efforts to expand the health workforce in the Commonwealth by (i) coordinating education, training, recruitment, and incentive programs designed to improve staff retention and build the Commonwealth's health workforce; (ii) addressing regulatory, payment, and other issues that negatively impact recruitment and retention of health workers in critical practice areas, including primary care, behavioral health, developmental services, nursing, pharmacy, and public health; and (iii) developing strategies to address the primary care and behavioral health safety net workforce shortages in the Commonwealth;
2. Identify barriers and resources necessary to, and make recommendations for, (i) providing incentives to remove barriers to educating and training health workforce professionals that include increasing eligible faculty, clinical placements, and residencies; (ii) incentivizing the production of health workforce credentials, degrees, and licensures based on a rigorous analysis of the need by the Office of Education and Labor Market Alignment; (iii) addressing regulatory barriers to entering into and staying in health professions; and (iv) providing education and training for health and health science professionals to align education and training initiatives with existing and evolving health workforce needs;
3. Make recommendations for establishing a process for the issuance of grants to regional health and health science workforce development initiatives to meet regional health and health science workforce needs by developing and supporting targeted initiatives to address unique regional needs related to health and health science workforce education, training, recruitment, and retention, and to meet the objectives described in subdivision 2; and
4. Request and provide opportunity for input from the Virginia Academy of Family Physicians, the Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia Center for Health Innovation, the Virginia Nurses Association, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Virginia Pharmacists Association, and representatives of behavioral health and rural health providers when developing recommendations pursuant to this section.
§2. The Secretaries of Commerce and Trade, Education, Health and Human Resources, and Labor shall report their findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations by October 1, 2022.
