VA Medical Center Recovery Act

Bill: 114-hr-3234
Sponsor: Rep. Roby, Martha [R-AL-2]
Introduced: 2015-07-28 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care quality
Health facilities and institutions
Health personnel
Medical education
Nursing
Performance measurement
Student aid and college costs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-28
text: 

Failing VA Medical Center Recovery Act

 
This bill establishes in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): (1) an Office of Failing Medical Center Recovery, and (2) the position of Under Secretary for Failing Medical Center Recovery to head the Office.
 
The Office shall carry out the managerial and day-to-day operational control of each VA failing medical center.
 
The VA shall: 
 
 
publish in the Federal Register and on a publicly available VA website a compilation of key health metrics for each VA medical center; 
 
certify semiannually that each VA medical center ranked as &quot;failing&quot; is subject to managerial and day-to-day operational control by the Office; 
 
revoke the certification of a VA medical center as a failing medical center if it achieves a ranking of &quot;satisfactory&quot; or better for three consecutive fiscal quarters; 
 
submit to Congress a quarterly report on the Office, including actions taken by the Under Secretary regarding covered failing medical centers; and 
 
transfer each covered failing medical center from the direct control of the relevant Veterans Integrated Service Network to the direct control of the Under Secretary. 
 
 
The Inspector General of the VA shall prioritize investigations relating to covered failing medical centers, and the Office of Accountability Review shall prioritize investigations of whistle blower retaliation relating to such centers. 
 
Office employees shall be included in the VA education tuition reimbursement program.

action_date: 2016-02-09
text: 

 VA Medical Center Recovery Act

 
(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to publish in the Federal Register and on a publicly available VA Internet website a compilation of key health metrics for each VA medical center. 
 
The VA shall: (1) determine on a semiannual basis whether each medical center is satisfactory or underperforming; and (2) upon a determination of underperformance, send a rapid deployment team to the center to ensure that it achieves satisfactory performance as quickly as practicable.
 
A rapid deployment team shall:
 
 
identify the areas of the medical center that require improvement and whether the center follows directives and best practices; 
 
establish a performance remediation plan; 
 
review the status of any disciplinary actions taken at the center, any recommendations made by the VA Inspector General, and any Government Accountability Office findings; and 
 
provide appropriate training to the director and staff.
 
 
The Inspector General of the VA shall prioritize investigations regarding underperforming medical centers.
 
The Office of Accountability Review shall prioritize investigations of whistleblower retaliation regarding underperforming medical centers.
 
(Sec. 3) The VA shall seek to enter into partnerships with recognized schools of nursing to provide undergraduate nursing students enrolled in such schools with standardized training with respect to: 
 
 
the culture of the military and veterans; 
 
post-traumatic stress disorder; 
 
traumatic brain injury; 
 
amputation and assistive devices; 
 
environmental, chemical, and toxic exposure; 
 
substance use disorders; 
 
military sexual trauma; 
 
suicide; 
 
homelessness; 
 
serious illness at the end of life; and 
 
federal benefits, services, and resources for veterans.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-10
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H628-629)
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H628-629)
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3234.
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H628-630)
action_date: 2016-02-09
text: Mr. Abraham moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
action_date: 2015-11-17
text: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
action_date: 2015-08-06
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2015-07-28
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-07-28
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H5531-5532)
action_date: 2015-07-28
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-28
text: Introduced in House