§30-7B-4 Center's powers and duties. - West Virginia Statutes

§30-7B-4. Center's powers and duties.
The West Virginia center for nursing shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) Establish a statewide strategic plan to address the nursing shortage in West Virginia;

(2) Establish and maintain a database of statistical information regarding nursing supply, demand and turnover rates in West Virginia and future projections;

(3) Coordinate communication between the organizations that represent nurses, health care providers, businesses, consumers, legislators and educators;

(4) Enhance and promote recruitment and retention of nurses by creating reward, recognition and renewal programs;

(5) Promote media and positive image building efforts for nursing, including establishing a statewide media campaign to recruit students of all ages and backgrounds to the various nursing programs throughout West Virginia;

(6) Promote nursing careers through educational and scholarship programs, programs directed at nontraditional students and other workforce initiatives;

(7) Explore solutions to improve working environments for nurses to foster recruitment and retention;

(8) Explore and establish loan repayment and scholarship programs designed to benefit nurses who remain in West Virginia after graduation and work in hospitals and other health care institutions;

(9) Establish grants and other programs to provide financial incentives for employers to encourage and assist with nursing education, internships and residency programs;

(10) Develop incentive and training programs for long-term care facilities and other health care institutions to use self- assessment tools documented to correlate with nurse retention, such as the magnet hospital program;

(11) Explore and evaluate the use of year-round day, evening and weekend nursing training and education programs;

(12) Establish a statewide hotline and website for information about the center and its mission and nursing careers and educational opportunities in West Virginia;

(13) Evaluate capacity for expansion of nursing programs, including the availability of faculty, clinical laboratories, computers and software, library holdings and supplies;

(14) Oversee development and implementation of education and matriculation programs for health care providers covering certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, registered professional nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and other advanced degrees;

(15) Seek to improve the compensation of all nurses, including nursing educators; and

(16) Perform such other activities as needed to alleviate the nursing shortage in West Virginia.