S704 - COVID-19 Recovery Act. (SL 2020-3)

Overview: Section 3D.6 of S.L. 2020-3 charges the North Carolina Area Health Education Center (NC AHEC) with studying the issues that impact health care delivery and the health care workforce during a pandemic, including issues that need to be addressed in the aftermath of this pandemic and plans that should be implemented in the event of a future health crisis. Input must be solicited from all relevant stakeholders. Issues to be examined include:

• Adequacy of the health care workforce supply to respond to a pandemic by setting.
• Adequacy of the health care workforce supply to address the COVID-19 surge.
• Adequacy of the health care workforce training, by setting.
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities with preexisting workforce shortages.
• Impact of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) availability on the health care workforce, by setting.
• Sufficiency of support mechanisms for the health care workforce.
• Impact of postponing or eliminating nonessential services and procedures on the health care workforce.
• Impact of postponing or eliminating nonessential services and procedures on hospitals, particularly rural hospitals.
• Interruptions on the delivery of routine health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of behavioral health services.
• Ability of telehealth options to deliver routine and emergent health and behavioral health services to patients.
• Impact of telehealth on hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Support necessary to resume health care delivery to pre pandemic levels.
• Ability of the health care workforce and health care delivery structure to respond to the needs of minority populations, individuals with health disparities, and individuals and communities with increased health risks during a pandemic.
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including concerns surrounding PPE availability, on current health sciences students and implications for future students contemplating a career in health sciences.

The NC AHEC must report findings and recommendations to the House Select Committee on COVID-19, Health Care Working Group, on or before November 15, 2020. The NC AHEC is also authorized to report subsequent study findings and recommendations, as appropriate, to the Joint House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services.

This section became effective May 4, 2020.