Section 164.937 - Center of Excellence in Rural Health(1) The University of Kentucky shall maintain a Center of Excellence in Rural Health.(2) The mission of the Center of Excellence in Rural Health shall be the improvement of the health of all rural Kentuckians and the improvement of rural health care systems through education, research, and service.(3) The Center of Excellence in Rural Health shall:(a) Support a site-based director, core faculty, and staff;(b) Collect and maintain statistical and other information relating to rural health status, rural health care systems, rural health policy, and other issues affecting the health and well-being of rural populations;(c) Collect, analyze, interpret, disseminate, and make recommendations regarding the availability, distribution, and sufficiency of the health professions workforce;(d) Provide educational opportunities for students committed to rural health care: 1. To obtain education in needed health professions as determined by the workforce analyses, rotating these programs as necessary;2. By testing and developing innovative models for learning; and3. By reserving funds budgeted for specific educational programs that in the future are deemed no longer necessary for use for educational programs for other health professions;(e) Maintain site-based family practice residencies;(f) Serve as the federally designated Office of Rural Health and perform the duties prescribed by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration;(g) Administer the Healthcare Worker Loan Relief Program established under KRS 164.936;(h) Demonstrate or provide innovative programs that improve the health of rural Kentuckians and strengthen rural health care systems; and(i) Advocate for rural health care.(4) To the extent additional funds are appropriated, the Center of Excellence in Rural Health shall establish additional sites throughout the Commonwealth as necessary to achieve the mission of the center.(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the study of rural health policies, workforce analyses, or the training of health professionals in or for rural or medically underserved areas by other state universities.(6) The University of Kentucky shall report to the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Legislative Research Commission a detailed, audited statement of expenditures for each program function in the Center of Excellence for Rural Health Care by September 1 of each year which enumerates expenditures for the preceding fiscal year.Amended by 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 226,§ 2, eff. 4/20/2022.Effective:6/21/2001
Amended 2001, Ky. Acts ch. 30, sec. 1, effective6/21/2001. -- Amended 1997, (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 131, effective 5/30/1997. -- Created 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 482, sec. 15, effective 7/13/1990.