2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 23:1871 — Louisiana health works commission; creation; membership; compensation; staff and facilities; powers and duties

CHAPTER 11-F.  LOUISIANA HEALTH WORKS COMMISSION

§1871.  Louisiana Health Works Commission; creation; membership; compensation; staff and facilities; powers and duties; data collection and reporting

A.  There is hereby created in the Louisiana Workforce Commission the Louisiana Health Works Commission, hereafter referred to as the "commission".

B.  The purpose of the commission is to serve as a collaborative working group to integrate and coordinate resources relative to health care workforce development within various state departments and key organizations.

C.  The following shall serve as members of the Louisiana Health Works Commission:

(1)  The secretary of the Department of Labor or his designee.

(2)  The secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals or his designee.

(3)  The secretary of the Department of Economic Development or his designee.

(4)  The secretary of the Department of Social Services or his designee.

(5)  The president of the Louisiana State Nurses Association or his designee.

(6)  The president of the Louisiana State Medical Society or his designee.

(7)  The president of the Louisiana Hospital Association or his designee.

(8)  The president of the Louisiana Nursing Home Association or his designee.

(9)  The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare or his designee and the chairman of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee or his designee.

(10)  The chairman of the House Committee on Health and Welfare or his designee and the chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations or his designee.

(11)  A representative of the governor's office selected by the governor.

(12)  The commissioner of higher education or his designee.

(13)  The chairman of the Nursing Supply and Demand Commission or his designee.

(14)  The chairman of the Allied Health Workforce Council or his designee.

(15)  The chairman of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners or his designee.

(16)  The chairman of the Louisiana Board of Nursing or his designee.

(17)  A designee of the Louisiana Council of Administrators of Nursing Education (LACANE).

(18)  The president of the Louisiana Organization of Nurse Executives or his designee.

(19)  Two academic administrators to be designated by the Board of Regents, one to represent the two-year institutions, one to represent the four-year institutions, and one academic administrator from the disciplines of nursing or allied health to represent the Southern University School of Nursing who shall be designated by the president of the university.

(20)  The chairman of the Louisiana Workforce Commission or his designee.

(21)  The superintendent of education or his designee.

(22)  The president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System or his designee.

(23)  Two academicians designated by the president of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.

(24)  The president of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities or his designee.

(25)  A representative of the AFL-CIO.

(26)  A representative of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association.

(27)  A representative of Louisiana State University Hospitals.

(28)  A representative of the Louisiana Ambulance Association.

(29)  The chairman of the Medical Education Commission or his designee, provided that the commission member provided for herein shall also be a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society.

D.  Members shall serve without compensation.

E.  The Louisiana Workforce Commission shall provide the staff and facilities needed by the commission to accomplish its tasks.

F.  Nominating bodies shall submit their nominees to the Louisiana Workforce Commission not later than June 30, 2002.  Members shall serve at the pleasure of nominating groups, organizations, or agencies.

G.  There shall be an executive committee composed of the following:

(1)  The commissioner of higher education or his designee for the commission.

(2)  The chairman of the Nursing Supply and Demand Commission or his designee for the commission.

(3)  The commission member representing the chairman of the Medical Education Commission.

(4)  The chairman of the Allied Health Workforce Council or his designee for the commission.

(5)  The president of the Louisiana Hospital Association or his designee for the commission.

H.  The executive committee shall:

(1)  Elect the chairperson of the commission.

(2)  Establish rules of procedure to be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

(3)  Perform other tasks as the commission directs or the adopted rules of procedure require.

I.  The commission shall meet at least once each calendar quarter unless the executive committee determines that there is no necessity for such a meeting.

J.  The commission shall address the workforce issues in the health care industry in Louisiana, support the education of future health care workers, and work to improve the image of health care professions in Louisiana.  The commission shall periodically report to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and the House Committee on Health and Welfare, the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations, and the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations all accomplishments and recommendations of the commission including an annual report to both committees. The commission shall submit its initial annual report to such committees by February 1, 2003.

K.  The commission shall study and make recommendations on at least the following workforce issues:

(1)  Programs to recruit and retain health care professionals in the Louisiana workforce.

(2)  Models for predicting the supply and demand for health care workers in the state through 2005 and beyond.

(3)  Incentives for health care workers to practice in Louisiana's medically underserved areas.

L.  The commission shall study and make recommendations on at least the following education issues:

(1)  Increasing the capacity of existing education programs to maintain or increase the supply of health care professionals in Louisiana.

(2)  Incentive programs for faculty retention.

(3)  Strategies to increase access of individuals to appropriate entry-level educational programs.

(4)  Recruitment and retention models for students in the health care field.

M.  The commission shall study and make recommendations on at least the following image issues:

(1)  Promotional activities for health careers throughout the Louisiana K-12 school systems.

(2)  Creative marketing strategies to improve the image of health care careers.

N.  Within the commission there shall be an Allied Health Workforce Council, which shall be comprised of a member of each of the following groups, organizations or agencies, who shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing group, organization or agency:

(1)  Louisiana State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

(2)  Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.

(3)  Louisiana Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners.

(4)  Louisiana Physical Therapy Association.

(5)  Louisiana State Board of Pharmacy.

(6)  The Board of Regents.

(7)  Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

(8)  Louisiana Hospital Association.

(9)  Louisiana Nursing Home Association.

(10)  Louisiana Medical Association.

(11)  Louisiana Pharmacists Association.

(12)  Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

(13)  Louisiana Dental Association.

(14)  Louisiana Occupational Therapy Association.

(15)  Louisiana Primary Care Association.

(16)  Louisiana Speech-Language Hearing Association.

(17)  Louisiana Osteopathic Association.

(18)  Chiropractic Association of Louisiana.

(19)  Louisiana State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

(20)  Louisiana Ambulance Association.

(21)  Louisiana Counseling Association.

O.(1)  The commission shall solicit, accept, and consider any recommendations forwarded by the Nursing Supply and Demand Commission (R.S. 37:1007), and the Medical Education Commission (R.S. 17:1519.8), and the Allied Health Workforce Council.  These commissions and the council shall recommend specific and targeted strategies to the Louisiana Health Works Commission for purposes of coordination among various state departments by the Louisiana Health Works Commission.

(2)  The Nursing Supply and Demand Commission, the Medical Education Commission, and the Allied Health Workforce Council shall each make initial reports to the commission no later than September 1, 2002.

P.  Nothing herein shall dilute the powers of the Nursing Supply and Demand Commission as established by the legislature in R.S. 37:1007 or the Medical Education Commission as established by the legislature in R.S. 17:1519.8.  Nothing herein shall allow the Louisiana Health Works Commission the authority to negate recommendations by the Nursing Supply and Demand Commission, the Medical Education Commission or the Allied Health Workforce Council unless approved jointly by the Senate and House health and welfare committees.

Q.(1)  The governor's Office of the Workforce Commission, the Health Works Commission, the division of administration, or any contractor working on behalf of these entities shall be authorized to request and receive licensing data, education data, and employment data, including unemployment wage records and other related health workforce data produced by state agencies, including the Departments of Labor, Economic Development, Education, and Health and Hospitals, obtained pursuant to the administration of this Chapter for any of the expressly stated following purposes:

(a)  Compiling statistics which will be used to measure and track the supply of health care professionals from health care training providers, both public and private, including secondary programs, post-secondary programs conducted at community and technical colleges, four-year institutions, graduate schools, proprietary schools, hospital-based programs, and other state-approved training providers.

(b)  Compiling employment statistics, which will be used to measure and track the supply and demand of health care professionals actually employed in the state of Louisiana as produced by the Louisiana Department of Labor.

(c)  Compiling statistics which will be used to measure and track the supply of licensed health care professionals as evidenced by licenses and renewed licenses granted by the health care professional boards of the state of Louisiana.  Those boards affected shall include but not be limited to:

(i)  Louisiana State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

(ii)  Louisiana State Board of Dentistry.

(iii)  Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Dieticians/Nutritionists.

(iv)  Louisiana State Board of Hearing Aid Dealers.

(v)  Louisiana State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors.

(vi)  Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and related health professions under its jurisdiction.

(vii)  Louisiana State Board of Nursing.

(viii)  Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Nursing Facility Administrators.

(ix)  Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners.

(x)  Louisiana State Board of Pharmacy.

(xi)  Louisiana State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

(xii)  Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners.

(xiii)  Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.

(xiv)  Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Radiologic Technologists.

(xv)  Louisiana State Board of Certified Social Work Examiners.

(xvi)  Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Speech Pathology and Audiology.

(xvii)  Louisiana State Board of Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors.

(xviii)  Louisiana State Board of Wholesale Drug Distributors.

(xix)  Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the health professions under its jurisdiction.

(2)(a)  All data shall be submitted in a standardized format agreed upon by the governor's Office of the Workforce Commission, the Health Works Commission, and representatives of the affected state boards and agencies. The standardized format shall be developed by October 31, 2003.

(b)  Data shall be submitted to the governor's Office of the Workforce Commission on an annual basis with reporting dates and schedule to be determined by the Office of the Workforce Commission in collaboration with entities described in Subparagraph (2)(a).

(3)  For the purpose of measuring, tracking, and projecting job growth, supply, and demand of health care professionals, the governor's Office of the Workforce Commission, working with the Health Works Commission, shall provide an annual health workforce report to related state agencies, education programs and state professional licensing boards outlined in this Subsection, health industry stakeholders, the Senate and House Committees on Education, Labor and Industrial Relations, and Health and Welfare, and the office of the governor.

(4)  Any individual data provided pursuant to this Subsection will be confidential.  No public employee, commission member, or contractor acting on behalf of a state agency or employee of such a contractor may:

(a)  Use any data provided pursuant to this Subsection for any purpose other than the statistical, forecasting, and program purposes for which the data is furnished.

(b)  Make public any of the data provided pursuant to this Subsection which would allow the identity of any individual to be inferred by either direct or indirect means.

(c)  Retain any personal data as provided in this Subsection that is received by the governor's Office of the Workforce Commission and the Health Works Commission or any contractor acting on behalf of the commission.  Any personal data must be destroyed within thirty days of completion of its intended purpose as described in this Subsection.

(5)  Any person who violates any provision of this Subsection shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both.

Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 157, §1; Acts 2003, No. 721, §1.