SECTIONS 128375-128401 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 128375-128401

128375. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that an
adequate supply of professional nurses is critical to assuring the
health and well-being of the citizens of California, particularly
those who live in medically underserved areas.
(b) The Legislature further finds that changes in the health care
system of this state have increased the need for more highly skilled
nurses. These changes include advances in medical technology and
pharmacology, that necessitate the use of more highly skilled nurses
in acute care facilities. Further, the containment of health care
costs has led to increased reliance on home health care and
outpatient services and to a higher proportion of more acutely ill
patients in acute care facilities. Long-term care facilities also
need more highly educated nursing personnel. Both shifts require a
larger number of skilled nursing personnel.
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that in nursing, as
in other professions, certain populations are underrepresented. The
Legislature also finds and declares that it is especially important
that nursing care be provided in a way that is sensitive to the
sociocultural variables that affect a person's health. The
Legislature recognizes that the financial burden of obtaining a
baccalaureate degree is considerable and that persons from families
lacking adequate financial resources may need financial assistance to
complete a baccalaureate degree.
(d) The Legislature further finds and declares that approximately
54.1 percent of all Californians live in rural and urban areas that
have been designated underserved. The shortage of professional nurses
in these areas makes it more difficult for those citizens to obtain
health care and more difficult to attract and retain other health
care professionals to those areas.
(e) The Legislature further finds and declares that since July 1,
1989, the Registered Nurse Education Fund has collected five million
two hundred eight thousand five hundred seventy-four dollars
($5,208,574) to support the education of professional nurses and
nursing students in California.
(f) The Legislature further finds and declares that since 1990,
the Health Professions Education Foundation has awarded over four
million dollars ($4,000,000) in scholarship and loan repayment to 754
nursing students and nurses in California.
(g) The Legislature further finds and declares that 107 award
recipients are baccalaureate of science degree prepared nurses who
have made a commitment to practice in medically underserved areas of
California for a period of two years in exchange for loan repayment.
(h) The Legislature further finds that 485 of the award recipients
are baccalaureate of science degree nursing students. Since 1990,
199 nurses have completed their contractual obligation with the
Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
(i) The Legislature further finds and declares that, since 1994,
112 associate degree nursing scholarship awards have been made to
students who have signed a contract with the office to complete a
baccalaureate of science degree within five years of completing their
associate degree. Six students have completed the articulations
pilot program.
(j) The Legislature further finds that recipients of the
foundation's financial assistance program have come from very diverse
backgrounds. Scholarships have been awarded to African-Americans,
American Indians, Asian-Pacific Islanders, Caucasians,
Hispanic-Americans, and other individuals.

128380. It is the intent of the Legislature to accomplish the
following:
(a) Assure an adequate supply of appropriately trained
professional nurses.
(b) Encourage persons from populations that are currently
underrepresented in the nursing profession to enter that profession.
(c) Encourage professional nurses to work in medically underserved
areas.

128385. (a) There is hereby created the Registered Nurse Education
Program within the Health Professions Education Foundation. Persons
participating in this program shall be persons who agree in writing
prior to graduation to serve in an eligible county health facility,
an eligible state-operated health facility, a health workforce
shortage area, or a California nursing school, as designated by the
director of the office. Persons agreeing to serve in eligible county
health facilities, eligible state-operated health facilities, or
health workforce shortage areas, and master's or doctoral students
agreeing to serve in a California nursing school may apply for
scholarship or loan repayment. The Registered Nurse Education Program
shall be administered in accordance with Article 1 (commencing with
Section 128330), except that all funds in the Registered Nurse
Education Fund shall be used only for the purpose of promoting the
education of registered nurses and related administrative costs. The
Health Professions Education Foundation shall make recommendations to
the director of the office concerning both of the following:
(1) A standard contractual agreement to be signed by the director
and any student who has received an award to work in an eligible
county health facility, an eligible state-operated health facility,
or in a health workforce shortage area that would require a period of
obligated professional service in the areas of California designated
by the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission as
deficient in primary care services. The obligated professional
service shall be in direct patient care. The agreement shall include
a clause entitling the state to recover the funds awarded plus the
maximum allowable interest for failure to begin or complete the
service obligation.
(2) Maximum allowable amounts for scholarships, educational loans,
and loan repayment programs in order to assure the most effective
use of these funds.
(b) Applicants may be persons licensed as registered nurses,
graduates of associate degree nursing programs prior to entering a
program granting a baccalaureate of science degree in nursing, or
students entering an entry-level master's degree program in
registered nursing or other registered nurse master's or doctoral
degree program approved by the Board of Registered Nursing. Priority
shall be given to applicants who hold associate degrees in nursing.
(c) Registered nurses and students shall commit to teaching
nursing in a California nursing school for five years in order to
receive a scholarship or loan repayment for a master's or doctoral
degree program.
(d) Not more than 5 percent of the funds available under the
Registered Nurse Education Program shall be available for a pilot
project designed to test whether it is possible to encourage
articulation from associate degree nursing programs to baccalaureate
of science degree nursing programs. Persons who otherwise meet the
standards of subdivision (a) shall be eligible for educational loans
when they are enrolled in associate degree nursing programs. If these
persons complete a baccalaureate of science degree nursing program
in California within five years of obtaining an associate degree in
nursing and meet the standards of this article, these loans shall be
completely forgiven.
(e) As used in this section, "eligible county health facility"
means a county health facility that has been determined by the office
to have a nursing vacancy rate greater than noncounty health
facilities located in the same health facility planning area.
(f) As used in this section, "eligible state-operated health
facility" means a state-operated health facility that has been
determined by the office to have a nursing vacancy rate greater than
noncounty health facilities located in the same health facility
planning area.

128390. The funds made available pursuant to this article shall be
used as specified in Article 14 (commencing with Section 69795) of
Chapter 2 of Part 42 of the Education Code, except that the funds
shall be used only for the purpose of assisting students in
completing nursing programs meeting the standards specified in
subdivision (j) of Section 69799 of the Education Code.

128395. In developing this program, the Health Professions
Education Foundation shall solicit the advice of representatives of
the Board of Registered Nurses, the California Nurses Association and
other professional nurse organizations, the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges, the Chancellor of the California State
University, and the California Association of Hospitals and Health
Systems. The foundation shall solicit the advice of representatives
who reflect the demographic diversity of California.

128400. There is hereby established in the State Treasury the
Registered Nurse Education Fund. All money in the fund shall be used
for the purposes specified in the California Registered Nurse
Education Program established pursuant to this article. This fund
shall receive money collected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
2815 of the Business and Professions Code.

128401. (a) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
shall adopt regulations establishing the statewide Associate Degree
Nursing (A.D.N.) Scholarship Pilot Program.
(b) Scholarships under the pilot program shall be available only
to students in counties determined to have the most need. Need in a
county shall be established based on consideration of all the
following factors:
(1) Counties with a registered nurse-to-population ratio equal or
less than 500 registered nurses per 100,000 individuals.
(2) County unemployment rate.
(3) County level of poverty.
(c) A scholarship recipient shall be required to complete, at a
minimum, an associate degree in nursing and work in a medically
underserved area in California upon obtaining his or her license from
the Board of Registered Nursing.
(d) The Health Professions Education Foundation shall consider the
following factors when selecting recipients for the A.D.N.
Scholarship Pilot Program:
(1) An applicant's economic need, as established by the federal
poverty index.
(2) Applicants who demonstrate cultural and linguistic skills and
abilities.
(e) The pilot program shall be funded from the Registered Nurse
Education Fund established pursuant to Section 128400 and
administered by the Health Professions Education Foundation within
the office. The Health Professions Education Foundation shall
allocate a portion of the moneys in the fund for the pilot program
established pursuant to this section, in addition to moneys otherwise
allocated pursuant to this article for scholarships and loans for
associate degree nursing students.
(f) No additional staff or General Fund operating costs shall be
expended for the pilot program.
(g) The Health Professions Education Foundation may accept private
or federal funds for purposes of the A.D.N. Scholarship Pilot
Program.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends
that date.