Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority; powers and duties, definition.

Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority. Modifies the enabling legislation for the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority by adding four additional ex officio members to the Authority's Board of Directors, adding managing primary care graduate medical education programs and managing the Health Workforce Innovation Fund to the duties of the Authority, specifying additional recipients of the Board's biennial report, and authorizing the Authority to partner with other agencies and institutions to obtain and manage health workforce data. The bill establishes the Virginia Health Workforce Innovation Fund to be administered by the Board of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority. The Board shall use the Fund to provide grants to facilitate regional collaboration on health care innovation and workforce development and, in particular, the formation of regional, employer-led partnerships that prioritize workforce growth and training. The bill provides for the formation across the Commonwealth of regional councils, defined in the bill, consisting of representatives from the government, health care, and education sectors. Under the bill, regional councils may submit applications for collaborative projects in their regions that enhance private-sector growth, competitiveness, and workforce development. A portion of the grant funds will be awarded on a population basis and a portion on a competitive basis. The bill creates a work group to study the pharmacy technician profession, creates a work group to address health workforce shortages, establishes a program for health workforce development, directs the Board of Nursing to add or remove certain educational requirements for members of the nursing faculty in specified nursing education programs, and establishes a licensing procedure by the Board of Psychology for a psychological practitioner, as defined by the bill. The bill directs the Board of Nursing to adopt emergency regulations to implement relevant provisions of the bill, directs the work group to study the pharmacy technician profession to submit its report to the Governor and the relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1, 2024, and directs the work group to address health workforce shortages to submit its report to the Governor and the relevant committees of the General Assembly by October 1, 2025. The bill removes references to qualified mental health professionals with a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026.