S.Amdt. 2355

SA 2355. Mr. JONES submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2019 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 7__. STUDY ON USE OF ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS IN NURSING
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
AND DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Ensuring that the United States has an adequate number
of trained nurses with the skills needed to provide special
care for our active duty members of the Armed Forces and
veteran population suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder and other unique health care needs is essential to
maintaining readiness of the Armed Forces.
(2) The United States faces a serious challenge to meet the
workforce needs to care for active duty members of the Armed
Forces and veterans with special health care needs. Assessing
the role of academic partnerships in meeting the challenge of
ensuring that a pipeline of skilled nurses enter the
workforce of the Department of Defense, the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and public health is essential to
establishing an effective national policy for nursing
workforce development.
(3) There are a number of programs outside the Department
of Defense that reinforce the special workforce training
needs of members of the Armed Forces and veterans that should
be included in a broader analysis of workforce development
issues, including initiatives of the Health Resources and
Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human
Services.
(4) The workforce development framework for medical doctors
entering service for the Department of Defense and the
Department of Veterans Affairs should serve as a frame of
reference for best practices in developing a similar nursing
workforce pipeline.
(b) Study.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, in consultation
with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, may conduct a study
on improving the use of academic partnerships in nursing
workforce development by the Department of Defense and the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(2) Elements.--The study conducted under paragraph (1)
shall include the following:
(A) An assessment and definition of best practices for
training of nurses and patient care by nurses.
(B) An identification of the impact of academic
affiliations and partnerships in nursing education and
nursing workforce development on the quality of care received
by active duty members of the Armed Forces and veterans with
respect to their special health care needs.
______