House 5573

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2026 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 5573

By Delegates Canterbury, Ellington, Amos, Campbell, and Rohrbach

[Introduced February 16, 2026; referred to the Committee on Education]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18B-16-2, §18B-16-3, §18B-16-4, and §18B-16-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend the code by adding a new section, designated §18B-16-10, relating to adding a new legislative finding to the Rural Health Initiative Act of 1991; adding a new definition to the Rural Health Initiative Act of 1991; updating the goals of the Rural Health Initiative; updating the requirements of primary health care education sites; and creating the Rural Medical Residency Program.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 16. HEALTH CARE EDUCATION.

§18B-16-2. Legislative findings and declarations.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the health of the citizens of West Virginia is of paramount importance; that the education of health care professionals must be reshaped; that the delivery of health care services must be improved; that refocusing health sciences education will aid in the recruitment of health care professionals and their retention in the state; that the educational process should incorporate clinical experience in rural areas and provide improved availability of health care services throughout the state, especially in rural areas; and that the state investment in such education and services must be contained within reasonable limits.

(b) The Legislature further hereby finds and declares that the vice chancellor for health sciences shall provide an integral link among the advisory panel created in section six of this article, the health sciences programs at the state institutions of higher education, the governing boards of the state's institutions of higher education and the joint commission for vocational-technical-occupational education to assure cooperation and the coordination of efforts to effectuate the goals set forth in section four of this article.

(c) It is the further finding of the Legislature that the appropriations pursuant to section eight of this article are made with the understanding that the educational and clinical programs existing at the schools of medicine on the effective date of this section, as well as the goals of this article, will be met without requests for increases in the annual appropriations through the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 1995, with the exception of requested increases in appropriations for the purpose of meeting any increases in the salaries of personnel as may be given to other employees at state institutions of higher education under the board of trustees.

(d) The Legislature further finds that there is a serious need throughout the state for a greater number of primary care physicians and allied health care professionals and a serious need for improved accessibility to adequate health care throughout the state, especially in rural areas; that the state's medical schools are finding it difficult to satisfy the ever increasing demand for qualified persons to deliver these health care services; and that the state's institutions of higher education and rural health care facilities existing throughout the state are a major educational resource for training students in these health care services, as well as a major resource for providing health care to underserved citizens of this state.

(e) The Legislature further finds that in order to provide adequate health care in rural communities there must be a cooperative initiative among educators, physicians, mid-level providers, allied health care providers and the rural communities.

(f) The Legislature further finds that the rural health initiative and the Kellogg program have together implemented a nationally acclaimed, highly successful effort to enable the health professions schools to serve the rural and primary care health needs of the state and should be continued as a single program within the office of the vice chancellor for health sciences.

(g) The Legislature further finds that many rural areas of this state are experiencing a health care desert with regard to many specialties, including but not limited to obstetric and gynecological care; that primary care health needs include gynecological and obstetric services for at least half of the population of the state of West Virginia, and should therefore be prioritized in the Rural Health Initiative, provided for in this article.

§18B-16-3. Definitions.

For purposes of this article, and in addition to the definitions set forth in section two, article one of this chapter, the terms used in this article have the following definitions ascribed to them:

(a) "Advisory panel" or "panel" means the West Virginia rural health advisory panel created under section six of this article.

(b) "Allied health care" means health care other than that provided by physicians, nurses, dentists and mid-level providers and includes, but is not limited to, care provided by clinical laboratory personnel, physical therapists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, medical records personnel, dietetic personnel, radiologic personnel, speech-language-hearing personnel and dental hygienists.

(c) "Medical care desert" means an area where population health care needs are unmet partially or totally due to lack of adequate access or improper quality of health care services caused by insufficient human resources in health or facilities, long waiting times, disproportionate high costs of services or other socio-cultural barriers. This term may apply to medical care as a whole, or to an individual medical specialty.

(c) (d) "Mid-level provider" includes, but is not limited to, advanced nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives and physician assistants.

(d) (e) "Office of community and rural health services" means that agency, staff or office within the Department of Health which has as its primary focus the delivery of rural health care.

(e) (f) "Primary care" means basic or general health care which emphasizes the point when the patient first seeks assistance from the medical care system and the care of the simpler and more common illnesses. This type of care is generally rendered by family practice physicians, general practice physicians, general internists, obstetricians, pediatricians, psychiatrists and mid-level providers.

(f) (g) "Primary health care education sites" or "sites", whether the term is used in the plural or singular, means those rural health care facilities established for the provision of educational and clinical experiences pursuant to section seven of this article.

 (g) (h) "Rural health care facilities" or "facilities", whether the term is used in the plural or singular, means nonprofit, free-standing primary care clinics in medically underserved or health professional shortage areas and nonprofit rural hospitals with one hundred or less licensed acute care beds located in a nonstandard metropolitan statistical area.

 (h) (i) "Schools of medicine" means the West Virginia University school of medicine, which is the school of health sciences; the Marshall school of medicine, which is the Marshall medical school; and the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine.

(i) (j) "Vice chancellor" means the vice chancellor for health sciences provided for under section six, article two of this chapter.

§18B-16-4. Establishment of rural health initiative; goals of rural health initiative.

There is hereby established a rural health initiative under the auspices of the board of trustees and under the direction and administration of the vice chancellor. This initiative shall combine the efforts of the rural health initiative as created by this article in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and the Kellogg program as administered by the vice chancellor before the effective date of this section. The goals of the rural health initiative include, but are not limited to:

(a) The development of at least six primary health care education sites, which shall include obstetric and gynecological care;

(b) The establishment of satellite programs from the primary health care education sites to provide additional opportunities for students and medical residents to serve under role models in rural areas;

(c) The provision of training to all medical students under the direction of primary care physicians practicing in rural areas;

(d) The provision of admission preferences for qualified students entering primary care in needed specialties, specifically including but not limited to obstetric and gynecological care, in underserved areas;

(e) The creation of medical residency rotations in hospitals and clinics in rural areas and the provision of incentives to medical residents to accept the residencies at these hospitals and clinics;

(f) The placement of mid-level providers in rural communities and the provision of support to the mid-level providers;

(g) The extension of rural hospital physician respite loan programs to rural primary health care clinics, and obstetric and gynecological care clinics or practices;

(h) The development of innovative programs which enhance student interest in rural health care opportunities;

(i) The increased placement of primary care physicians in underserved areas;

(j) The increased placement and retention of obstetrical providers and the availability of prenatal care;

(k) The increased use of underserved areas of the state in the educational process;

(l) An increase in the number of support services provided to rural practitioners;

(m) An increase in the retention rate of graduates from West Virginia medical schools, nursing schools and allied health care education programs;

(n) The development of effective health promotion and disease prevention programs to enhance wellness; and

(o) The establishment of primary health care education sites, specifically including but not limited to obstetric and gynecological care, which complement existing community health care resources and which do not relocate the fundamental responsibility for health care from the community to the board of trustees.

§18B-16-7. Establishment and operation of primary health care education sites.

(a) In addition to the authority granted elsewhere in this chapter, the board of trustees is authorized and directed to establish at least six primary health care education sites at existing rural health care facilities at which students, interns and residents in health sciences and allied health care education programs may be provided educational and clinical experiences. The board of trustees shall establish at least six sites prior to January 1, 1994. The vice chancellor shall, where practicable, and based upon recommendations of the joint commission on vocational-technical-occupational education established in section one, article three-a of this chapter, allow for the provision of educational experience to student practical nurses at the primary health care education sites.

(b) The advisory panel and the vice chancellor shall carefully analyze prospective sites so that the selection of the primary health care education sites and their satellites meet the ultimate goals of expanding rural health care without adversely impacting on existing health care providers or facilities.

(c) The advisory panel and the vice chancellor shall employ an open and competitive process in selecting locations for primary health care education sites and shall observe as criteria the following factors: (1) The degree of community interest, support and involvement in seeking award of the site; (2) qualification as a medically underserved or health professional shortage area; (3) the financial need of the community; (4) statewide geographic dispersion; (5) the amount of local financial support available to initiate and continue the site, including the possibility of the site's being financially self-sufficient within a reasonable period of time; (6) the adequacy of facilities available to accommodate the health sciences and allied health care education program; (7) consistency with planning efforts of the office of rural health and the health care planning commission; (8) the amount and manner in which health care needs unique to West Virginia are addressed and will be addressed; (9) the degree to which state institutions of higher education cooperate in the health care education site; (10) the number of patients and patient encounters; (11) the number of existing health care providers in the area and the degree to which the rural health care facility will work with and impact on those health care providers; and (12) the level of networking among local health care providers serving the area.

(d) The vice chancellor shall select the primary health care education sites from the list of recommendations made by the advisory panel in accordance with section six of this article. The vice chancellor shall communicate his or her selection to the board of trustees for final approval by the board. The vice chancellor shall notify the advisory panel and the board of trustees regarding the extent to which the panel's recommendations were adopted by the vice chancellor and his or her reasons for rejecting any recommendations of the panel.

(e) The board of trustees may enter into a contractual relationship with each primary health care education site, which shall be in accordance with such laws as may apply to publicly funded partnerships with private, nonprofit entities and the provisions of section three, article five of this chapter.

(f) Not later than June 30, 2026, the vice chancellor and board of trustees shall evaluate each rural health care education site currently operating under this article to ensure its compliance with the changes enacted during the 2026 Regular Legislative Session. The vice chancellor and board of trustees shall immediately take action to remedy any deficiency identified.

(g) Not later than June 30, 2026, the vice chancellor and board of trustees shall identify health care deserts within this state. Not later than December 31, 2026, the vice chancellor and board of trustees shall develop a plan to address the health care deserts identified, implementation of which shall commence not later than April 1, 2027.

§18B-16-10. Rural Medical Residency Program.

(a) There is hereby created within the commission an office of rural medical education and workforce development for the purpose of addressing the issues of education, recruitment, and retention of physicians in rural areas and medical care deserts of West Virginia.

(b) The duties of the office shall include, but are not limited to:

(1) Promoting and coordinating, through the state's schools of medicine, opportunities for physicians to participate in a medical residency program in a rural area or medical care desert of West Virginia;

(2) Supporting initiatives for expansion of rural medical residency programs, specifically those focused on obstetric and gynecological care;

(3) Gathering, quantifying, and disseminating dependable data on current rural medical healthcare educational programs and workforce capacities; and

(4) Performing other activities necessary or expedient to accomplish the purposes of this article.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Rural Medical Residency Program and to require the Rural Health Initiative to focus on certain medical care deserts such as obstetric and gynecological care.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.