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Statutory Text

SEC. 5002 ø42 U.S.C. 294q note¿. DEFINITIONS. (a) THIS TITLE.—In this title: (1) ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—The term ‘‘allied health professional’’ means an allied health professional as defined in section 799B(5) of the Public Heath Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p(5)) who— (A) has graduated and received an allied health professions degree or certificate from an institution of higher education; and (B) is employed with a Federal, State, local or tribal public health agency, or in a setting where patients might require health care services, including acute care facilities, ambulatory care facilities, personal residences, and other settings located in health professional shortage areas, medically underserved areas, or medically underserved populations, as recognized by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (2) HEALTH CARE CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘healthcare career pathway’’ means a rigorous, engaging, and high quality set of courses and services that— (A) includes an articulated sequence of academic and career courses, including 21st century skills; (B) is aligned with the needs of healthcare industries in a region or State; (C) prepares students for entry into the full range of postsecondary education options, including registered apprenticeships, and careers; (D) provides academic and career counseling in student-to-counselor ratios that allow students to make informed decisions about academic and career options; (E) meets State academic standards, State requirements for secondary school graduation and is aligned with requirements for entry into postsecondary education, and applicable industry standards; and (F) leads to 2 or more credentials, including— (i) a secondary school diploma; and (ii) a postsecondary degree, an apprenticeship or other occupational certification, a certificate, or a license. (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term in sections 101 and 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 and 1002). (4) LOW INCOME INDIVIDUAL, STATE WORKFORCE INVEST- MENT BOARD, AND LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD.— (A) LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘low-income individual’’ has the meaning given that term in section 101 of the Workforce investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801). (B) STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD; LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD.—The terms ‘‘State workforce investment board’’ and ‘‘local workforce investment board’’, refer to a State workforce investment board established under section 111 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2821) and a local workforce investment board established under section 117 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2832), respectively. (5) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary education’’ means— (A) a 4-year program of instruction, or not less than a 1-year program of instruction that is acceptable for credit toward an associate or a baccalaureate degree, offered by an institution of higher education; or (B) a certificate or registered apprenticeship program at the postsecondary level offered by an institution of higher education or a non-profit educational institution. (6) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ means an industry skills training program at the postsecondary level that combines technical and theoretical training through structure on the job learning with related instruction (in a classroom or through distance learning) while an individual is employed, working under the direction of qualified personnel or a mentor, and earning incremental wage increases aligned to enhance job proficiency, resulting in the acquisition of a nationally recognized and portable certificate, under a plan approved by the Office of Apprenticeship or a State agency recognized by the Department of Labor. (b) TITLE VII OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.—Section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p) is amended— (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following: ‘‘(3) PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The term ‘physician assistant education program’ means an educational program in a public or private institution in a State that— ‘‘(A) has as its objective the education of individuals who, upon completion of their studies in the program, be qualified to provide primary care medical services with the supervision of a physician; and ‘‘(B) is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.’’; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(12) AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER.—The term ‘area health education center’ means a public or nonprofit private organization that has a cooperative agreement or contract in effect with an entity that has received an award under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of section 751, satisfies the requirements in section 751(d)(1), and has as one of its principal functions the operation of an area health education center. Appropriate organizations may include hospitals, health organizations with accredited primary care training programs, accredited physician assistant educational programs associated with a college or university, and universities or colleges not operating a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine. ‘‘(13) AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER PROGRAM.—The term ‘area health education center program’ means cooperative program consisting of an entity that has received an award under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of section 751 for the purpose of planning, developing, operating, and evaluating an area health education center program and one or more area health education centers, which carries out the required activities described in section 751(c), satisfies the program requirements in such section, has as one of its principal functions identifying and implementing strategies and activities that address health care workforce needs in its service area, in coordination with the local workforce investment boards. ‘‘(14) CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER.—The term ‘clinical social worker’ has the meaning given the term in section 1861(hh)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(hh)(1)). ‘‘(15) CULTURAL COMPETENCY.—The term ‘cultural competency’ shall be defined by the Secretary in a manner consistent with section 1707(d)(3). ‘‘(16) DIRECT CARE WORKER.—The term ‘direct care worker’ has the meaning given that term in the 2010 Standard Occupational Classifications of the Department of Labor for Home Health Aides [31–1011], Psychiatric Aides [31–1013], Nursing Assistants [31–1014], and Personal Care Aides [39–9021]. ‘‘(17) FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER.—The term ‘Federally qualified health center’ has the meaning given that term in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)). ‘‘(18) FRONTIER HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREA.— The term ‘frontier health professional shortage area’ means an area— ‘‘(A) with a population density less than 6 persons per square mile within the service area; and ‘‘(B) with respect to which the distance or time for the population to access care is excessive. ‘‘(19) GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY.—The term ‘graduate psychology’ means an accredited program in professional psychology. ‘‘(20) HEALTH DISPARITY POPULATION.—The term ‘health disparity population’ has the meaning given such term in section 903(d)(1). ‘‘(21) HEALTH LITERACY.—The term ‘health literacy’ means the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand health information and services in order to make appropriate health decisions. ‘‘(22) MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROFESSIONAL.—The term ‘mental health service professional’ means an individual with a graduate or postgraduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in psychiatry, psychology, school psychology, behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nursing, social work, school social work, substance abuse disorder prevention and treatment, marriage and family counseling, school counseling, or professional counseling. ‘‘(23) ONE-STOP DELIVERY SYSTEM CENTER.—The term ‘onestop delivery system’ means a one-stop delivery system described in section 134(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2864(c)). ‘‘(24) PARAPROFESSIONAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH WORKER.—The term ‘paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health worker’ means an individual who is not a mental or behavioral health service professional, but who works at the first stage of contact with children and families who are seeking mental or behavioral health services, including substance abuse prevention and treatment services. ‘‘(25) RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY GROUP; RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY POPULATION.—The terms ‘racial and ethnic minority group’ and ‘racial and ethnic minority population’ have the meaning given the term ‘racial and ethnic minority group’ in section 1707. ‘‘(26) RURAL HEALTH CLINIC.—The term ‘rural health clinic’ has the meaning given that term in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)).’’. (c) TITLE VIII OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.—Section 801 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2)— (A) by striking ‘‘means a’’ and inserting ‘‘means an accredited (as defined in paragraph 6)’’; and (B) by striking the period as inserting the following: ‘‘where graduates are— ‘‘(A) authorized to sit for the National Council Licensure EXamination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX–RN); or ‘‘(B) licensed registered nurses who will receive a graduate or equivalent degree or training to become an advanced education nurse as defined by section 811(b).’’; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(16) ACCELERATED NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM.—The term ‘accelerated nursing degree program’ means a program of education in professional nursing offered by an accredited school of nursing in which an individual holding a bachelors degree in another discipline receives a BSN or MSN degree in an accelerated time frame as determined by the accredited school of nursing. ‘‘(17) BRIDGE OR DEGREE COMPLETION PROGRAM.—The term ‘bridge or degree completion program’ means a program of education in professional nursing offered by an accredited school of nursing, as defined in paragraph (2), that leads to a baccalaureate degree in nursing. Such programs may include, Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor’s of Science of Nursing (BSN) programs, RN to MSN (Master of Science of Nursing) programs, or BSN to Doctoral programs.’’.