[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1125 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1125
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program on physical security at Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facilities, to direct the Secretary to make certain improvements
relating to inspections of Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facilities and improving care for women, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 8, 2019
Mr. Kilmer (for himself, Mr. Webster of Florida, Mr. Rutherford, Mr.
Peters, Mrs. Murphy, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, Mr. Moulton, Mrs.
Brooks of Indiana, and Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot
program on physical security at Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facilities, to direct the Secretary to make certain improvements
relating to inspections of Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facilities and improving care for women, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accountability for Quality VA
Healthcare Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL SECURITY AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITIES.
(a) In General.--Beginning not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry
out a pilot program to enhance the physical security of Department of
Veterans Affairs medical facilities. At the medical facilities selected
for the pilot program, the Secretary shall--
(1) ensure that alarm systems effectively notify relevant
staff in the police command and control centers and the unit
nursing stations of the facility; and
(2) require relevant medical center stakeholders to
coordinate and consult on--
(A) plans for new and renovated units; and
(B) any changes to physical security features,
including closed-circuit television cameras.
(b) Locations.--The Secretary shall select five medical facilities
of the Department to participate in the pilot program.
(c) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date
that is two years after the date on which the pilot program commences.
(d) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the termination of the
pilot program under subsection (c), the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report on the pilot program.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IMPROVEMENT OF
FACILITY ALIGNMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit
to Congress a report on the findings and recommendations of the report
of the Government Accountability Office entitled ``VA Real Property: VA
Should Improve Its Efforts to Align Facilities with Veterans' Needs''.
The report submitted by the Secretary shall include the plan of the
Secretary, including a time frame for completion, to specifically
address the following recommendations:
(1) To address identified limitations to the strategic
capital investment planning process, including limitations to
scoring and approval and access to information.
(2) To assess the value of the Department of Veterans
Affairs Integrated Planning facility master plans as a
facility-planning tool, and based on conclusions contained in
the Government Accountability Office report, either discontinue
the development of such master plans or address the limitations
of such master plans.
(3) To develop and distribute guidance for Veterans
Integrated Service Networks and facilities using best practices
on how to effectively communicate with stakeholders about
alignment change.
(4) To develop and implement a mechanism to evaluate
Veterans Integrated Service Network and facility communication
efforts with stakeholders to ensure that such communication
efforts are working as intended and align with guidance and
best practices.
(b) Public Availability.--Upon submittal of the report under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall make the report publicly available
on an internet website of the Department.
SEC. 4. UPDATE OF HANDBOOK TO IMPROVE LEASING PROJECTS.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and not less than once every five-year period thereafter, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall update the handbook of the
Department of Veterans Affairs titled ``Planning and Activating
Community Based Outpatient Clinics'', or a successor handbook, to
reflect current policies, best practices, and clarify the roles and
responsibilities of the personnel of the Department involved in the
leasing projects of the Department.
SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENT OF INSPECTIONS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
MEDICAL FACILITIES AND IMPROVEMENT OF CARE FOR WOMEN
PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Department of Veterans Affairs has policies in
place to help ensure the privacy, safety, and dignity of women
veterans when they receive care at its medical facilities.
(2) A Government Accountability Office report found many
instances of noncompliance with such policies.
(3) Women veterans are the fastest growing cohort within
the veteran community.
(4) Women serve in every branch of the Armed Forces and
represent nearly 15 percent of the members of the Armed Forces
currently serving on active duty and 18 percent of members of
the National Guard and reserve components.
(5) The number of women veterans using the medical care
provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to
increase dramatically.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) female veterans are put at risk by a system that is
currently designed for men; and
(2) the Department of Veterans Affairs should follow
through with commitments to ensure female veterans can access
services tailored to their needs.
(c) Improvement of Inspections of Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Facilities and Improvement of Care for Women Provided by
Department of Veterans Affairs.--
(1) Improvement of inspections process.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall strengthen the environment of care
inspections process and oversight of such process by--
(A) expanding the list of requirements that
facility staff inspect for compliance to align with the
policy of the Veterans Health Administration;
(B) ensuring that all patient care areas of
Department medical facilities are inspected as
required;
(C) clarifying the roles and responsibilities of
Department medical facility staff responsible for
identifying and addressing compliance; and
(D) establishing a process to verify that
noncompliance information reported by facilities to the
Veterans Health Administration central office is
accurate and complete.
(2) Improvement of care for women.--
(A) Monitoring of gender-specific care services.--
To improve care for women veterans, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall monitor women veterans' access
to gender-specific care services under current and
future community care contracts or agreements. Such
monitoring shall include an examination of appointment
scheduling and completion times, driving times to
appointments, and reasons appointments could not be
scheduled with community providers.
(B) Definitions.--In this subparagraph:
(i) The term ``gender-specific care
services'' means mammography, maternity care,
and gynecology.
(ii) The term ``community care contract or
agreement'' means an agreement described in
section 101(d) of the Veterans Access, Choice,
and Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-
146), or other contract or agreement under
which the Secretary furnishes hospital care and
medical treatment to veterans at non-Department
of Veterans Affairs health care facilities.
SEC. 6. IMPROVEMENT OF DELIVERY OF CARE AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS
AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITIES.
(a) Wait Times.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall clearly
identify measures for wait times for medical appointments in Department
of Veterans Affairs medical facilities in a manner that reduces the
likelihood of an individual misinterpreting such measures.
(b) Scheduling.--The Secretary shall ensure that the term ``patient
indicated date'' is clearly defined for purposes of the scheduling
policy of the Veterans Health Administration and in related training
documents. The Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to
ensure such term is correctly implemented by employees who perform
scheduling functions.
(c) Staff Availability.--
(1) Allocation; scheduling.--The Secretary shall develop a
policy requiring Department of Veterans Affairs medical
facilities to routinely assess the scheduling needs and
resources required to ensure that employees of such facilities
are allocated in such a manner as to adequately respond to the
demand for scheduling medical appointments.
(2) Recruitment and retention.--The Secretary shall develop
a strategy to improve recruitment and retention of Department
of Veterans Affairs medical providers and employees who perform
scheduling functions for Department medical facilities. Such
strategy shall be designed to ensure adequate staffing of
Department medical facilities and shall emphasize recruitment
and retention in facilities located in rural areas.
(d) Telephone Access.--The Secretary shall--
(1) ensure that all Department medical facilities provide
oversight of telephone access and implement the best practices
outlined in the Department 2015 Telephone Access and Contact
Management Improvement Guide, or a successor guide; and
(2) identify medical facilities that are using outdated
telephone technology and replace such technology with new
systems designed to improve telephone service and access to
health care.
SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING THE RECRUITMENT, HIRING, AND RETENTION
OF NURSES FOR THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall publish and submit to the Committees on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a
report regarding efforts to recruit, hire, and retain nurses for the
Veterans Health Administration.
(b) Elements.--The report under subsection (a) shall include
details relating to--
(1) efforts to recruit, hire, and retain nurses at each
medical facility of the Department;
(2) resources provided by the Secretary to recruit, hire,
and retain nurses for the Veterans Health Administration; and
(3) recommendations for legislation the Secretary considers
appropriate.
SEC. 8. REINSTATEMENT OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT REGARDING THE DEPARTMENT
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS EDUCATIONAL
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
Section 3003(a)(1) of the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset
Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-66; 31 U.S.C. 1113 note) shall not apply to
the report required under section 7632 of title 38, United States Code.
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