To improve the provision of health care and services to veterans in Hawaii, and for other purposes.

June 7, 2005

Mr. AKAKA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

To improve the provision of health care and services to veterans in Hawaii, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Neighbor Islands Veterans Health Care Improvements Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. VET CENTER ENHANCEMENTS.

(a) Additional Counselors for Certain Clinics- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall assign an additional counselor to each vet center as follows:

(1) The vet center on the Island of Maui, Hawaii.

(2) The vet center in Hilo, Hawaii.

(b) Establishment of New Vet Center- The Secretary shall establish and operate a new vet center on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, at a location to be selected by the Secretary.

(c) Vet Center Defined- In this section, the term `vet center' means a center for the provision of readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans under section 1712A of title 38, United States Code.

SEC. 3. HEALTH CARE CLINICS.

(a) Establishment of Clinics-

(1) SATELLITE CLINICS- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and operate a satellite health care clinic at a location selected by the Secretary on each island as follows:

(A) The Island of Lanai, Hawaii.

(B) The Island of Molokai, Hawaii.

(2) MEDICAL CARE CLINIC- The Secretary may establish and operate a medical care clinic at a location selected by the Secretary on the west side of the Island of Kauai, Hawaii.

(b) Elements of Satellite Clinics- Each satellite clinic established under subsection (a)(1) shall include--

(1) a vet center, which shall provide readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans under section 1712A of title 38, United States Code; and

(2) a community based outpatient clinic (CBOC), which shall provide to veterans--

(A) the medical services and other health-care related services provided by community based outpatient clinics operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and

(B) such other care and services as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(c) Staffing and Other Resources-

(1) SATELLITE CLINICS- (A) The staff of the satellite clinics established under subsection (a)(1) shall be derived from staff of the vet center, and of the community based outpatient clinic, on the Island of Maui, Hawaii, who shall be assigned by the Secretary to such satellite clinics under this section. In making such assignments, the Secretary may not reduce the size of the staff of the vet center, or of the community based outpatient clinic, on the Island of Maui below its size as of the date of the enactment of this Act.

(B) Each satellite clinic established under subsection (a)(1) shall have a computer system of nature and quality equivalent to the computer systems of the community based outpatient clinics operated by the Department, including the capability to conduct medical tracking.

(C) Each satellite clinic established under subsection (a)(1) shall have appropriate telemedicine equipment.

(2) MEDICAL CARE CLINIC- The medical care clinic established under subsection (a)(2) shall have such staff as the Secretary considers appropriate for its activities.

(d) Hours of Operation-

(1) SATELLITE CLINICS- Each satellite clinic established under subsection (a)(1) shall have hours of operation each week determined by the Secretary. The number of hours so determined for a week shall consist of a number of hours equivalent to not less than three working days in such week.

(2) MEDICAL CARE CLINIC- The medical care clinic established under subsection (a)(2) shall have such hours of operation as the Secretary considers appropriate for its activities.

SEC. 4. LONG-TERM CARE.

(a) Medical Care Foster Program- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and operate on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii, a medical care foster program. The program shall be established utilizing as a model the Medical Care Foster Program at the Center Arkansas Veterans Health Care System of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(b) Additional Clinical Staff for Non-Institutional Long-Term Care-

(1) ASSIGNMENT OF STAFF- The Secretary shall assign to the community based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) of the Department of Veterans Affairs referred to in paragraph (2) such additional clinical staff as the Secretary considers appropriate in order to ensure that such clinics provide non-institutional long-term care for veterans in accordance with the provisions of subtitle A of title I of the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Public Law 106-117) and the amendments made by such provisions. Such additional clinical staff shall include a home health nurse.

(2) COVERED COMMUNITY BASED OUTPATIENT CLINICS- The community based outpatient clinics referred to in this paragraph are the community based outpatient clinics as follows:

(A) The community based outpatient clinic in Hilo, Hawaii.

(B) The community based outpatient clinic on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii.

(C) The community based outpatient clinic in Kona, Hawaii.

(D) The community based outpatient clinic on the Island of Maui, Hawaii.

SEC. 5. MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

(a) Establishment of Mental Health Center- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and operate in Hilo, Hawaii, at an appropriate location selected by the Secretary, a new center for the provision of mental health care and services to veterans.

(b) Care and Treatment Available Through Center- The mental health center established under subsection (a) shall provide the following:

(1) Day mental health care and treatment.

(2) Outpatient mental health care and treatment.

(3) Such other mental health care and treatment as the Secretary considers appropriate.

(c) Staff- The mental health center established under subsection (a) shall have as its staff a drug abuse counselor, a nurse practitioner, and such other staff as the Secretary considers appropriate for its activities.

SEC. 6. STUDY ON ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED CARE AND FEE-BASIS CARE.

(a) In General- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out a study of the demand for, and access to, specialized care and fee-basis care from the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans on the neighbor islands of Hawaii, including whether or not the specialized care or fee-basis care, as the case may be, available to veterans from the Department on the neighbor islands is adequate to meet the demands of veterans for such care.

(b) Report- Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the study required by subsection (a). The report shall set forth the results of the study and include such recommendations for legislative or administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate in light of the study.

SEC. 7. CONSTRUCTION OF MENTAL HEALTH CENTER AT TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, HAWAII.

(a) Authorization of Major Medical Facility Project- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may carry out a major medical facility project for the construction of a mental health center at Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii, in the amount of $10,000,000.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations-

(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2006 for the Construction, Major Projects, account, $10,000,000 for the project authorized by subsection (a).

(2) LIMITATION- The project authorized by subsection (a) may only be carried out using--

(A) funds appropriated for fiscal year 2006 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in paragraph (1);

(B) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects, for a fiscal year before fiscal year 2006 that remain available for obligation; and

(C) funds appropriated for Construction, Major Projects, for fiscal year 2006 for a category of activity not specific to a project.

(c) Facilities- The facilities at the mental health center authorized to be constructed by subsection (a) shall include residential rehabilitation beds for patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and such other facilities as the Secretary considers appropriate.

SEC. 8. FUNDING.

(a) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2006 such sums as may be necessary to carry out sections 2 through 6.

(b) Availability- Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) shall be available only to carry out sections 2 through 6.

(c) Construction With Other Funding for Health Care for Veterans in Hawaii- It is the sense of Congress that the amount authorized to be appropriated by subsection (a) for fiscal year 2006 should--

(1) supplement amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for that fiscal year for health care for veterans in Hawaii for activities other than those specified in sections 2 through 6; and

(2) not result in any reduction in the amount that would have been appropriated to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for that fiscal year for health care for veterans in Hawaii for such activities had the amount in subsection (a) not been authorized to be appropriated.

END