House File 106 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY STAED, WINCKLER,
WESSEL=KROESCHELL,
HEDDENS, ANDERSON,
BERRY, THEDE,
BROWN=POWERS,
McCONKEY, GASKILL,
SMITH, ABDUL=SAMAD,
STECKMAN, KEARNS,
OURTH, HANSON, HUNTER,
MEYER, MASCHER,
LENSING, WOLFE,
FORBES, GAINES,
KELLEY, OLSON, DUNKEL,
PRICHARD, OLDSON, and
RUFF
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the establishment of a health workforce
2 center.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. FINDINGS AND INTENT.
1 2 1. The general assembly finds all of the following:
1 3 a. The majority of aging Iowans and individuals with
1 4 disabilities want to live as independently as possible in their
1 5 own communities for as long as possible.
1 6 b. The increasing number of aging Iowans and individuals
1 7 with disabilities requires a greater supply of health and
1 8 long=term care workers.
1 9 c. The safety and well=being of Iowans is dependent upon a
1 10 stable health and long=term care workforce to serve their needs
1 11 when and where such needs arise.
1 12 d. The direct care workforce is America's fastest growing
1 13 profession, with the need estimated by the state direct care
1 14 workforce initiative in Iowa to be 20,000 new direct care
1 15 positions by the year 2020. However, the number of individuals
1 16 who typically fill these positions, typically women between the
1 17 ages of 18 and 44, is dwindling, while those working in the
1 18 field experience an average annual turnover rate of between 40
1 19 and 60 percent.
1 20 e. High staff turnover cost taxpayers and the state millions
1 21 of dollars, annually, but more consistent and reliable data on
1 22 supply, demand, turnover, turnover costs, staffing levels, and
1 23 various data correlation and other analyses of this critical
1 24 workforce is needed.
1 25 f. Extensive work has already been done to study the issues
1 26 impacting the direct care workforce and other providers of
1 27 health and long=term care with significant public and private
1 28 sector investment, including:
1 29 (1) The direct care worker compensation advisory committee
1 30 which submitted recommendations for consideration by the
1 31 general assembly in the 2009 legislative session regarding
1 32 wages and other compensation paid to direct care workers in
1 33 nursing facilities. The recommendations included strategies
1 34 to improve wages and benefits paid to direct care workers
1 35 employed in Iowa's nursing facilities that, in time, would help
2 1 to bridge the wage gap for direct care workers in home and
2 2 community=based and other settings if implemented.
2 3 (2) The various initiatives undertaken by the department of
2 4 public health including the direct care worker task force, the
2 5 governor's task force on the nursing shortage, the Alzheimer's
2 6 disease task force, the direct care workforce initiative,
2 7 and the personal and home care aide state training (PHCAST)
2 8 project undertaken through a federal grant awarded to only six
2 9 states in the country to develop and pilot a gold standard of
2 10 education and training for direct care workers.
2 11 (3) The development of a strategic plan for health care
2 12 delivery infrastructure and health care workforce resources by
2 13 the health and long=term care access advisory council released
2 14 in 2010.
2 15 (4) The accumulation of relevant data by various state
2 16 agencies regarding issues impacting the health and long=term
2 17 care workforce and the impact of not having a quality and
2 18 stable workforce.
2 19 g. All of these studies and initiatives and all of the
2 20 data collected have demonstrated consistent results, with the
2 21 overriding recommendation being that a point of coordination
2 22 should be established to address health and long=term care
2 23 workforce concerns.
2 24 h. (1) Iowa Code section 135.163 directs the department
2 25 of public health to coordinate public and private efforts
2 26 to develop and maintain an appropriate health care delivery
2 27 infrastructure and a stable, well=qualified, diverse, and
2 28 sustainable health care workforce in this state to address
2 29 the broad spectrum of health care needs of Iowans throughout
2 30 their lifespan including long=term care needs. At a minimum,
2 31 the department is to develop a strategic plan for health care
2 32 delivery infrastructure and health care workforce resources
2 33 in this state; provide for the continuous collection of data
2 34 to provide a basis for health care strategic planning and
2 35 health care policymaking; and make recommendations regarding
3 1 the health care delivery infrastructure and the health care
3 2 workforce to assist in monitoring current needs, predicting
3 3 future trends, and informing policymaking.
3 4 (2) Iowa Code section 135.11, subsection 27, directs
3 5 the department of public health to establish and administer,
3 6 if sufficient funds are available, a program to assess and
3 7 forecast health workforce supply and demand in the state for
3 8 the purpose of identifying current and projected workforce
3 9 needs. The program may collect, analyze, and report data that
3 10 furthers the purpose of the program. The program shall not
3 11 release information that permits identification of individual
3 12 respondents of program surveys.
3 13 2. Given that the recommendations of all of the initiatives
3 14 and studies have consistently called for the establishment of
3 15 a point of coordination and given the leadership demonstrated
3 16 by the department of public health and the directives to the
3 17 department relating to the health and long=term care workforce,
3 18 it is the intent of the general assembly that an Iowa health
3 19 workforce center be established within the department of public
3 20 health to act as the state's coordination point to address
3 21 health workforce concerns.
3 22 a. It is the intent of the general assembly that the center
3 23 provide a home for direct care and other health workforce
3 24 initiatives across state government, charged with ensuring a
3 25 more coordinated effort to identify and address various needs
3 26 and solutions to workforce stability, and focusing on the
3 27 advancement of a significant body of research, programming, and
3 28 services proven to be effective in bringing more stability to
3 29 the health and long=term care workforce.
3 30 b. It is the intent of the general assembly that the
3 31 investment in existing and new strategies funded by the state
3 32 and the private sector, and carried out by the department, will
3 33 result in a return on investment through improved utilization
3 34 of tax dollars which has the potential to result in health care
3 35 cost containment and reduce Medicaid and other costs related to
4 1 poor quality of care and staff turnover.
4 2 c. It is also the intent of the general assembly that the
4 3 center provide an opportunity to demonstrate Iowa's continued
4 4 leadership in the nation as a model in providing quality of
4 5 life for all of its citizens.
4 6 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 135.164A Iowa health workforce center
4 7 == established.
4 8 1. The department shall establish an Iowa health workforce
4 9 center to coordinate public and private health and long=term
4 10 care workforce efforts in the state.
4 11 2. At a minimum, the center shall do all of the following:
4 12 a. Provide for continuous data collection, management,
4 13 and analysis to ensure a basis for health care strategic
4 14 planning and health care policymaking, and for the making
4 15 of recommendations to assist in monitoring current needs,
4 16 predicting future trends, and informing policymaking.
4 17 b. Build a cohesive, collaborative, and comprehensive
4 18 network of public and private partnerships with a common
4 19 mission of ensuring a stable health and long=term care
4 20 workforce prepared to provide quality care and support to
4 21 Iowans and to provide the basic infrastructure and capacity
4 22 to advance existing bodies of work developed through these
4 23 efforts.
4 24 c. Examine the health care workforce from a systems=based
4 25 approach and find solutions to the problems the health care
4 26 system faces by bringing together stakeholders from education,
4 27 health professions, hospitals, and government to build
4 28 sustainable programs that solve the problems facing health
4 29 care workers and employers through health care workforce
4 30 innovations.
4 31 d. Coordinate recruitment, training, and retention efforts
4 32 and serve as an incubator for new recruitment, training, and
4 33 retention initiatives.
4 34 e. Undertake other activities as necessary to assist in
4 35 developing and maintaining a stable, well=qualified, diverse,
5 1 and sustainable health care workforce which may appropriately
5 2 address the broad spectrum of health care needs of Iowans
5 3 across their ability level and throughout their lifespan.
5 4 EXPLANATION
5 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
5 6 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
5 7 This bill provides findings and intent of the general
5 8 assembly relating to the establishment of an Iowa health
5 9 workforce center.
5 10 The bill establishes the Iowa health workforce center in the
5 11 department of public health to coordinate public and private
5 12 health and long=term care workforce efforts in the state.
5 13 At a minimum, the center must provide for continuous data
5 14 collection, management, and analysis to provide a basis for
5 15 health care strategic planning and health care policymaking,
5 16 and to make recommendations to assist in monitoring current
5 17 needs, predicting future trends, and informing policymaking;
5 18 build a cohesive, collaborative, and comprehensive network
5 19 of public and private partnerships with a common mission of
5 20 ensuring a stable health and long=term care workforce prepared
5 21 to provide quality care and support to Iowans and provide
5 22 the basic infrastructure and capacity to advance existing
5 23 bodies of work developed through these efforts; examine
5 24 the health workforce from a systems=based approach and find
5 25 solutions to the problems by bringing together stakeholders
5 26 from education, health professions, hospitals, and government
5 27 to build sustainable programs that solve the problems facing
5 28 health care workers and employers through health care workforce
5 29 innovations; coordinate recruitment, training, and retention
5 30 efforts and serve as an incubator for new recruitment,
5 31 training, and retention initiatives; and undertake other
5 32 activities as necessary to assist in developing and maintaining
5 33 a stable, well=qualified, diverse, and sustainable health care
5 34 workforce which may appropriately address the broad spectrum
5 35 of health care needs of Iowans across their ability level and
6 1 throughout their lifespan.
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