public and allied health personnel

public and allied health personnel Sec. 701. (a) Effective, October 1, 1977, part G of title VII is amended to read as follows: “Part G— Programs for Personnel in Health Administration and in Allied Health “Subpart I— Public Health Personnel “grants for graduate programs in health administration “Sec. 791. (a) From funds appropriated under subsection (d), the Secretary shall make annual grants to public or nonprofit private educational entities (including schools of social work and excluding accredited schools of public health) to support the graduate educational programs of such entities in health administration, hospital administration, and health planning. “(b) The amount of the grant for any fiscal year under subsection (a) to an educational entity with an application approved under subsection (c) shall be equal to the amount appropriated under subsection (d) for such fiscal year divided by the number of educational entities which have applications for grants for such fiscal year approved under subsection (c). “(c) (1) No grant may be made under subsection (a) unless an application therefor has been submitted to the Secretary before, such time as he shall by regulation prescribe and has been approved by the Secretary. Such application shall be in such form, and submitted in such manner, as the Secretary shall by regulation, prescribe. “(2) The Secretary may not approve an application submitted under paragraph (1) unless— “(A) such application— “(i) contains assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that in the school year (as defined in regulations of the Secretary) beginning in the fiscal year for which the applicant receives a grant under subsection (a) that— “(I) at least 25 individuals will complete the graduate educational programs of the entity for which such application is submitted; and “(II) such entity shall expend or obligate at least $100,000 in funds from non-Federal sources to conduct such programs; “(ii) contains assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that such entity shall maintain a first-year enrollment of full-time students in the programs, for the school year beginning in the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978, and for each school year thereafter beginning in a fiscal year for which a grant under this section is applied for, which exceeds the number of full-time, first-year students enrolled in such programs in the school year beginning in the fiscal year ending September 30, 1970— “(I) by 5 percent of such number if such number was not more than 100, or 90 STAT. 2304 “(II) by 2.5 percent of such number, or 5 students, whichever is greater, if such number was more than 100; and “(iii) contains such other information as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe; and “(B) the program for which such application was submitted has been accredited for the training of individuals for health administration, hospital administration, or health planning by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Commissioner of Education and meets such other quality standards as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe. “(3) The Secretary may waive (in whole or in part) the requirements of clause (ii) of paragraph (2)(A) with respect to any school upon written notification by the appropriate accreditation body or bodies that compliance with the assurances required by such paragraph will prevent such school from meeting the accreditation standards of such body or bodies. “(4) The Secretary may not approve or disapprove an application submitted under paragraph (1) except after consultation with the National Advisory Council on Health Professions Education. “(d) There are authorized to be appropriated for payments under grants under this section $3,250,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978, $3,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, and $3,750,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980. “special projects for accredited schools of public health and graduate programs in health administration “Sec. 792. (a) The Secretary may make grants to assist accredited schools of public health in meeting the costs of special projects to develop new programs or to expand existing programs in— “(1) biostatistics or epidemiology, “(2) health administration, health planning, or health policy analysis and planning, “(3) environmental or occupational health, or “(4) dietetics and nutrition. “(b) (1) The Secretary may make grants to assist those public or nonprofit educational entities (including graduate schools of social work) which have accredited programs described in paragraph (2) in meeting the costs of special projects to develop new programs or to expand existing programs in— “(A) biostatistics or epidemiology, “(B) health administration, health planning or health policy analysis and planning, “(C) environmental or occupational health, or “(D) dietetics and nutrition. “(2) For purposes of this subsection, an accredited program is a graduate program which is accredited for the training of individuals in health administration, health planning, or health policy analysis and planning by a recognized body or bodies approved by the Commissioner of Education and which meets such other quality standards as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe. “(c) There are authorized for the purpose of making payments under grants under this section $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978; $5,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979; and $6,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980. 90 STAT. 2305 “statistics and annual report “Sec. 793. (a) The Secretary shall, in coordination with the National Center for Health Statistics (established under section 306), continuously develop, publish, and disseminate on a nationwide basis statistics and other information respecting public and community health personnel, including— “(1) detailed descriptions of the various types of activities in which public and community health personnel are engaged, “(2) the current and anticipated needs for the various types of public and community health personnel, and “(3) the number, employment, geographic locations, salaries, and surpluses and shortages of public and community health personnel, the educational and licensure requirements for the various types of such personnel, and the cost of training such personnel. “(b) (1) The Secretary and each program entity shall in securing and maintaining any record of individually identifiable personal data (hereinafter in this subsection referred to as ‘personal data’) for purposes of this section— “(A) inform any individual who is asked to supply personal data whether he is legally required, or may refuse, to supply such data and inform him of any specific consequences, known to the Secretary or program entity as the case may be, of providing or not providing such data; “(B) upon request, inform any individual if he is the subject of personal data secured or maintained by the Secretary or program entity, as the case may be, and make the data available to him in a form comprehensible to him; “(C) assure that no use is made of personal data which is not within the purposes of this section unless an informed consent has been obtained from the individual who is the subject of such data; and “(D) upon request, inform any individual of the use being made of personal data respecting such individual and of the identity of the individuals and entities which will use the data and their relationship to the activities conducted under this section. “(2) Any entity which maintains a record of personal data and which receives a request from the Secretary or a program entity to use such data for purposes of this section shall not transfer any such data to the Secretary or to a program entity unless the individual whose personal data is to be so transferred gives an informed consent for such transfer. “(3) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, personal data collected by the Secretary or any program entity for purposes of t his section may not be made available or disclosed by the Secretary or any program entity to any person other than the individual who is the subject of such data unless (i) such person requires such data for purposes of this section, or (ii) in response to a demand for such data made by means of compulsory legal process. Any individual who is the subject of personal data made available or disclosed under clause (ii) shall be notified of the demand for such data. “(B) Subject to all applicable laws regarding confidentiality, only the data collected by the Secretary under this section which is not personal data shall be made available to bona fide researchers and policy analysts (including the Congress) for the purposes of assisting in the conduct of studies respecting health professions personnel. “(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘program entity’90 STAT. 2306 means any public or private entity which collects, compiles, or analyzes health professions data under an arrangement with the Secretary for purposes of this section. “(c) The Secretary shall submit annually to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare of the Senate a report on— “(1) the statistics and other information developed pursuant to subsection (a), and “(2) the activities conducted under this subpart, including an evaluation of such activities. Such report shall contain such recommendations for legislation as the Secretary determines are needed to improve the programs authorized under tins subpart. The Office of Management and Budget may review such report before its submission to such Committees, but the Office may not revise the report or delay its submission beyond the date prescribed for its submission and may submit to such Committees its comments respecting such report. The first report under this subsection shall be submitted not later than December 1, 1978. “(d) For purposes of this section, the term ‘public and community health personnel’ means individuals who are engaged in— “(1) the planning, development, monitoring, or management, of health care or health care institutions, organizations, or systems, “(2) research on health care development and the collection and analysis of health statistics, data on the health of population groups, and any other health data, “(3) the development and improvement of individual and community knowledge of health (including environmental health and preventive medicine) and the health care system, or “(4) the planning and development of a healthful environment and control of environmental health hazards. “Subpart II— Allied Health Personnel “definitions “Sec. 795. For purposes of this subpart: “(1) The term ‘allied health personnel’ means individuals with training and responsibilities for (A) supporting, complementing, or supplementing the professional functions of physicians, dentists, and other health professionals in the delivery of health care to patients, or (B) assisting environmental engineers and other personnel in environmental health control and preventive medicine activities. “(2) The term ‘training center for allied health professions’ means a junior college, college, or university— “(A) which provides, or can provide, programs of education leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree (or to the equivalent of either) or to a higher degree in medical technology, optometric technology, dental hygiene, or in any of such other of the allied health professions curricula as are specified by regulation, or which, if in a junior college, provides a program (i) leading to an associate or an equivalent degree, (ii) of education in optometric technology, dental hygiene, or such other curricula as are specified by regulation, and (iii) acceptable for full credit toward a baccalaureate or equivalent degree in the allied health professions or designed90 STAT. 2307 to prepare the student to work as a technician in a health occupation specified by regulations of the Secretary, “(B) which provides training for not less than a total of twenty persons in such curricula, . “(C) which, if in a college or university which does not include a teaching hospital or in a junior college, is affiliated (to the extent and in the manner determined in accordance with regulations) with such a hospital, and “(D) which is (or is in a college or university which is) accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Commissioner of Education, or which is in a junior college which is accredited by the regional accrediting agency for the region in which it is located or there is satisfactory assurance afforded by such accrediting agency to the Secretary that reasonable progress is being made toward accreditation by such junior college, except that an applicant for a grant under this subpart which does not at the time of application meet the requirement of subparagraph (B) shall be deemed to meet such requirement if the Secretary finds there is reasonable assurance that the unit will meet the requirement of subparagraph (B) prior to the beginning of the academic year following the normal graduation date of the first entering class in such unit. “(3) The term ‘nonprofit’ as applied to any training center for allied health professions means such a training center which is an entity, or is owned and operated by an entity, no part of the net earnings of which inures or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual; and as applied to any entity means an entity no part of the net earnings of which inures or may lawfully inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. “project grants and contracts “Sec. 796. (a) The Secretary shall make grants to and enter into contracts with eligible entities to assist them in meeting the costs of planning, developing, demonstrating, operating, and evaluating projects relating to: “(1) Establishment of regional or State systems for the coordination and management of education and training at various levels for allied health personnel and nurses within and among educational institutions and their clinical affiliates for the purpose of assuring that the needs of such region or State for allied health personnel and nurses are substantially met. “(2) Establishment: of new roles and functions for allied health personnel and methods for increasing the efficiency of health manpower through more effective utilization of allied health personnel in various practice settings. “(3) Establishment of new or improved methods of credentialing allied health personnel, including techniques for appropriate recognition (through equivalency and proficiency testing or otherwise) of previously acquired training or experience, developed in coordination with the Secretary’s program under section 1123 of the Social Security Act. “(4) Establishment of methods of recruitment, training, and retraining of allied health personnel. 90 STAT. 2308 “(5) Establishment of meaningful career ladders and programs of advancement for practicing allied health personnel. “(6) Establishment of continuing education programs for practicing allied health personnel. “(b) (1) No grant may be made or contract entered into under subsection (a) unless an application therefor has been submitted to, and approved by, the Secretary. Such application shall be in such form, submitted in such manner, and contain such information, as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe. “(2) The amount of any grant under subsection (a) shall be determined by the Secretary. “(c) For purposes of subsection (a), the term ‘eligible entities’ means entities which are— “(1) schools, universities, Or other educational entities which provide for allied health personnel education and training and which meet such standards as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe; “(2) States, political subdivisions of States, or regional and other public bodies representing States or political subdivisions of States or both; or “(3) entities which have a working arrangement (meeting such requirements as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe) with an entity described in paragraph (1). “(d) (1) For the purpose of making payments under grants and contracts under subsection (a), there are authorized, to be appropriated $22,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978; $24,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979; and $20,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980. “(2) In each fiscal year for which funds are authorized to be appropriated under this subsection, not less than 50 percent of the funds appropriated shall be reserved for award to training centers for allied health professions. “traineeships for advanced training of allied health personnel “Sec. 797. (a) The Secretary may make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for traineeships provided by such entities for the advanced training of allied health personnel to teach in training programs for such personnel or to serve in administrative or supervisory positions. “(b) (1) No grant may be made under subsection (a) unless an application therefor has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary. Such application shall be in such form, submitted in such manner, and contain such information as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe. “(2) Payments under such grants shall be limited to such amounts as the Secretary finds necessary to cover the cost of tuition and fees of, and stipends and allowances (including travel and subsistence expenses and dependency allowances) for, the trainees. “(c) For the purposes of making payments under grants under subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated $4,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978; $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979; and $5,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980. 90 STAT. 2309 “educational assistance to disadvantaged individuals in allied health training “Sec. 798. (a) (1) For the purpose of assisting individuals who, due to socioeconomic factors, are financially or otherwise disadvantaged (including individuals who are veterans of the Armed Forces with military training or experience in the health field) to undertake education. to enter the allied health professions, the Secretary may make grants to and enter into contracts with schools of allied health, State and local educational agencies, and other public or private nonprofit entities to assist in meeting the costs described in paragraph (2). “(2) A grant or contract under paragraph (1) may be used by the school, agency, or entity to meet the costs of— “(A) identifying, recruiting, and selecting such disadvantaged individuals who have a potential for education or training in the allied health professions; “(B) facilitating the entry of such individuals into such a school, agency, or entity; “(C) providing counseling or other services designed to assist such individuals to complete successfully their education at such school, agency, or entity; “(D) providing, for a period prior to the entry of such individuals into the regular course of education of such a school, agency, or entity, preliminary education designed to assist them to complete successfully such regular course of education at such a school, agency, or entity, or referring such individuals to institutions providing such preliminary education; and “(E) publicizing existing sources of financial aid available to persons enrolled in the education program of such a school, agency, or entity or who are undertaking training necessary to qualify them to enroll in such a program. “(b) (1) No grant may be made or contract entered into under subsection (a) unless an application therefor has been submitted to, and approved by, the Secretary. Such application shall be in such form, submitted in such manner, and contain such information, as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe. “(2) The amount of any grant under subsection (a) shall be determined by the Secretary. “(c) For payments under grants and contracts under subsection (a) there are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for fiscal year ending September 30, 1978, $1,000,000 for fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, and $1,000,000 for fiscal year ending September 30, 1980.”.