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 Vet-
erans Affairs is expected to increase dramatically. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress 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 DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FACILITIES AND 
IMPROVEMENT OF CARE FOR WOMEN PROVIDED BY DE-
PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.— 
(1) IMPROVEMENT
OF
INSPECTIONS
PROC-
ESS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
strengthen the environment of care inspections proc-
ess 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 Adminis-
tration; 
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(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-spe-
cific care services under current and future 
community care contracts or agreements. Such 
monitoring shall include an examination of ap-
pointment scheduling and completion times, 
driving times to appointments, and reasons ap-
pointments could not be scheduled with commu-
nity providers. 
(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this subparagraph: 
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(i) The term ‘‘gender-specific care 
services’’ means mammography, maternity 
care, and gynecology. 
(ii) The term ‘‘community care con-
tract 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 con-
tract or agreement under which the Sec-
retary 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 DEPART-
MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL FA-
CILITIES. 
(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 in-
dividual 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 
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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 Vet-
erans Affairs medical facilities to routinely assess 
the scheduling needs and resources required to en-
sure that employees of such facilities are allocated in 
such a manner as to adequately respond to the de-
mand for scheduling medical appointments. 
(2) RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.—The Sec-
retary shall develop a strategy to improve recruit-
ment and retention of Department of Veterans Af-
fairs medical providers and employees who perform 
scheduling functions for Department medical facili-
ties. Such strategy shall be designed to ensure ade-
quate staffing of Department medical facilities and 
shall emphasize recruitment and retention in facili-
ties located in rural areas. 
(d) TELEPHONE ACCESS.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) ensure that all Department medical facili-
ties provide oversight of telephone access and imple-
ment the best practices outlined in the Department 
2015 Telephone Access and Contact Management 
Improvement Guide, or a successor guide; and 
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(2) identify medical facilities that are using out-
dated telephone technology and replace such tech-
nology with new systems designed to improve tele-
phone 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 regard-
ing efforts to recruit, hire, and retain nurses for the Vet-
erans 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 re-
cruit, hire, and retain nurses for the Veterans 
Health Administration; and 
(3) recommendations for legislation the Sec-
retary considers appropriate. 
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