(5) STAFF.—Upon the request of the Commis-
sion, the Secretary may detail, on a reimbursable 
basis, any of the personnel of the Administration on 
Aging, the Agency for Health Care Quality and Re-
search, or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services to the Commission to assist in carrying out 
this subsection. 
(6) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the establishment of the Commission, and 
annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit a 
report to the Congress on long-term care quality. 
Each such report shall include the following: 
(A) An inventory of relevant programs and 
recommendations for improved coordination and 
integration of policy and programs. 
(B) An assessment of achievement of the 
objectives identified in the national plan devel-
oped under paragraph (2) and recommenda-
tions for realizing such objectives. 
(C) Recommendations on Federal legisla-
tion, regulations, or administrative policies to 
enhance long-term care quality and outcomes. 
(b) LONG-TERM CARE QUALITY DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECTS.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Administration on 
Aging, the Agency for Healthcare Research and 
Quality, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services, shall make grants to eligible entities for 5 
demonstration projects to implement and evaluate 
methods for improving the quality of health care in 
long-term care settings. Each such demonstration 
project shall include— 
(A) alternative community models that— 
(i) will achieve greater integration of 
personal and population health services; 
and 
(ii) 
address 
safety, 
effectiveness, 
patient- or community-centeredness, timeli-
ness, efficiency, and equity (the six aims 
identified by the Institute of Medicine of 
the National Academies in its report enti-
tled ‘‘Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New 
Health System for the 21st Century’’ re-
leased on March 1, 2001); 
(B) innovative approaches to the financing 
and delivery of health services to achieve long- 
term care quality goals; and 
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(C) development of quality improvement 
support structures to assist long-term care sys-
tems and professionals (such as workforce sup-
port structures, quality monitoring and report-
ing, clinical care protocols, and information 
technology applications). 
(2) ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES.—In this subsection, 
the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a consortium 
that— 
(A) shall include— 
(i) at least one health care provider or 
health care delivery system; and 
(ii) at least one organization rep-
resenting multiple community stakeholders; 
and 
(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the pro-
gram for awarding grants under this subsection, the 
Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the 
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, long- 
term care providers, long-term care researchers, and 
private and non-profit groups (including national as-
sociations) which are undertaking similar efforts. 
(4) EXPEDITED WAIVERS.—The Secretary shall 
expedite the processing of any waiver that— 
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(A) is authorized under title XVIII or XIX 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et 
seq.); and 
(B) is necessary to carry out a demonstra-
tion project under this subsection. 
(5) DEMONSTRATION
PROJECT
SITES.—The 
Secretary shall ensure that the 5 demonstration 
projects funded under this subsection are conducted 
at a variety of sites representing the diversity of geo-
graphic locations in the Nation. 
(6) DURATION.—Each demonstration project 
under this subsection shall be for a period of 4 
years. 
(7) INDEPENDENT
EVALUATION.—The Sec-
retary shall enter into an arrangement with an enti-
ty that has experience working directly with long- 
term care systems for the conduct of an independent 
evaluation of the program carried out under this 
subsection. 
(8) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 
conclusion of all of the demonstration projects fund-
ed under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit 
a report to the Congress on the results of such 
projects. The report shall include— 
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(A) an evaluation of patient access to care, 
patient outcomes, and an analysis of the cost 
effectiveness of each such project; and 
(B) recommendations on Federal legisla-
tion, regulations, or administrative policies to 
enhance long-term care quality and outcomes. 
(c) APPROPRIATION.—For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 
such sums as may be necessary. 
TITLE II—WORKFORCE SUPPORT 
SEC. 201. NURSING LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 
Section 846(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 297n(a)) is amended by striking the last sentence. 
SEC. 202. NATIONAL NURSING DATABASE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall provide for the establishment of a 
national nursing database (including geriatric nursing) to 
be used to predict future nursing shortages. 
(b) INFORMATION IN DATABASE.—The database es-
tablished under subsection (a) shall be designed to include 
nursing workforce data across all healthcare provider set-
tings, including nursing educators, as determined by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to be appro-
priate for use in the analysis of trends in the supply and 
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