(Doc Name h:\legwork\house\amend\h-wm\010\rural health initiative.docx):
EXPLANATION: Amending Rural Health Initiative Language to include feed back from the USC School of Medicine and the Office of Rural Health
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 33,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, page 345, paragraph
33.27, line 32, by striking the proviso in its entirety and
inserting /33.27. (DHHS: Rural
Health Initiative) From the funds appropriated to the Department
of Health and Human Services for the Rural Health Initiative,
the department shall partner with the University of South
Carolina School of Medicine to develop a strategic plan for
addressing medically underserved communities throughout the
state. The University of South Carolina, School of Medicine
will consult with the South Carolina Office of Rural Health in
the development and implementation of the strategic plan. The
department may leverage any and all available federal funds to
implement this initiative.
(A)
The Department of Health and Human Services shall
develop a plan to address the following provisions:
(1)
Rural Healthcare and Education - This initiative
will be administered by the USC School of Medicine through a
Center of Excellence to support and develop rural medical
education and delivery infrastructure in South Carolina through
clinical practice, training and research as well as
collaboration with other state agencies and institutions.
Funding will support Center staffing as well as the programs and
collaborations delivering rural health research, the ICARED
program, workforce development scholarships and recruitment,
rural fellowships, health education development, and rural
practice support and education.
(2)
Rural Residency Training Enhancement Grants - The
department and USC School of Medicine shall determine areas for
expanding or enhancing family medicine residency programs, and
any other appropriate primary care specialties identified by the
Department, into areas not served by Graduate Medical Education
programs, in order to expose resident physicians to rural
practice and enhance the opportunity to recruit these residents
for long term practice in these rural and/or underserved
communities. Up to $500,000 of the funds appropriated to the
department for the Rural Health Initiative may be used for this
purpose. The department and USC School of Medicine shall
collaborate to determine a methodology for evaluating proposals
and awarding enhancement grants. New training sites and/or
residency positions are subject to approval as specified by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Applications to the ACGME must be developed no later than June
30, 2017.
(B)
The Department of Health and Human Services, in
cooperation with the State Fiscal Accountability Authority,
shall develop one or more competitive procurements for a
facility capable of providing Emergency Care Services in a
geographical area determined by the department to be medically
underserved. This facility and any equipment shall be exempt
from any Department of Health and Environmental Control
Certificate of Need requirements or regulations. The facility
must provide emergency care and observation beds twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week. The department shall seek one
or more proposals from qualified entities to:
(1)
Develop a facility capable of providing emergency
care, twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, and
designed to incorporate the utilization of the Statewide
Telemedicine Network.
(2)
Provide for the delivery of care and the management
of daily operations in the facility.
(3)
The Center of Excellence, in cooperation with the
department, will develop a plan to support and enhance primary
care and specialty services in the region surrounding this
facility.
(C)
The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office and the Area
Health Education Consortium's Office of Healthcare Workforce
Analysis and Planning shall provide the department with any
information required by the department in order to implement
this proviso in accordance with state law and
regulations./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and titles to conform.