The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 18: Health

Chapter 222: Access to Health Care Professionals

• § 9491. Health care workforce; strategic plan

  (a) The Director of Health Care Reform in the Agency of Human Services shall maintain a current health care workforce development strategic plan that continues efforts to ensure that Vermont has the health care workforce necessary to provide care to all Vermont residents.

  (b)(1) The Director or designee shall consult with an advisory group composed of the following 11 members, at least one of whom shall be a nurse, to develop and maintain the strategic plan:

  (A) one representative of the Green Mountain Care Board’s primary care advisory group;

  (B) one representative of the Vermont State Colleges;

  (C) one representative of the Area Health Education Centers’ workforce initiative;

  (D) one representative of federally qualified health centers;

  (E) one representative of Vermont hospitals;

  (F) one representative of physicians;

  (G) one representative of mental health professionals;

  (H) one representative of dentists;

  (I) one representative of naturopathic physicians;

  (J) one representative of home health agencies; and

  (K) one representative of long-term care facilities.

  (2) The Director or designee shall serve as the chair of the advisory group.

  (c) The Director of Health Care Reform shall ensure that the strategic plan includes recommendations on how to develop Vermont’s health care workforce, including:

  (1) the current capacity and capacity issues of the health care workforce and delivery system in Vermont, including the shortages of health care professionals, specialty practice areas that regularly face shortages of qualified health care professionals, issues with geographic access to services, and unmet health care needs of Vermonters;

  (2) how State government, universities and colleges, the State’s educational system, entities providing education and training programs related to the health care workforce, and others may develop the resources in the health care workforce and delivery system to educate, recruit, and retain health care professionals to achieve Vermont’s health care reform principles and purposes; and

  (3) assessing the availability of State and federal funds for health care workforce development. (Added 2011, No. 48, § 12a; amended 2017, No. 85, § E.300.3, eff. June 28, 2017; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 111; 2017, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; 2019, No. 14, § 59, eff. April 30, 2019; 2019, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2020; 2021, No. 20, § 74.)

• § 9492. Non-emergency walk-in centers; nondiscrimination

  (a) A non-emergency walk-in center shall accept patients of all ages for diagnosis and treatment of illness, injury, and disease during all hours that the center is open to see patients. A non-emergency walk-in center shall not discriminate against any patient or prospective patient on the basis of insurance status or type of health coverage.

  (b) As used in this section, “non-emergency walk-in center” means an outpatient or ambulatory diagnostic or treatment center at which a patient without making an appointment may receive medical care that is not of an emergency, life threatening nature. The term includes facilities that are self-described as urgent care centers, retail health clinics, and convenient care clinics. (Added 2013, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. May 27, 2014.)