§30-7-18. Nursing shortage study commission.

(a) A nursing shortage study commission shall be created by the board. The board shall appoint 9 members to the commission. The board shall appoint:

(1) One individual who is on the board;

(2) Two individuals that are employed as registered professional nurses in a hospital and who work primarily providing direct patient care;

(3) Two registered professional nurses who work as long-term care nurses, one of whom works in a nursing home and one of whom works for a home health agency, both of whom work primarily providing direct patient care;

(4) One nursing administrator;

(5) The Chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission;

(6) The West Virginia Nurses’ Association President; and

(7) The Executive Director of the Center for Nursing.

(b) 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. Five of the appointed members is a quorum for the purpose of conducting business. The board shall meet at least monthly. 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 §6-9A-1 et seq. of this code.

(c) 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 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 its findings and recommendation to the Joint Committee on Health by December 1, 2022.

(3) Terminate January 1, 2023.