Sec. 101. Establishment of offices of capital asset personnel at medical centers of Department of Veterans Affairs
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By not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs has a dedicated office and sufficient staff to conduct— facility planning; long-range capital planning; management of projects and capital assets relating to the execution of major construction projects, minor construction projects, major leases, minor leases, non-recurring maintenance, and related matters at the medical center and facilities of the Department in the catchment area surrounding the medical center; engineering, including matters relating to seismic repairs and projects; maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure; the collection of views of veterans and employees of the Department to understand the capital assets needs of the Department; and other relevant functions relating to capital assets of the Department as determined by the Secretary.
To the greatest extent possible, the Secretary shall ensure that each of the requirements under paragraph
(1)are held by a different individual or group of individuals so as not to overburden a small number of individuals with such requirements. The Secretary shall designate one individual as the lead senior official responsible for integration and coordination of, and accountability for, the functions described in subparagraph
(A)through
(F)of paragraph (1). The Secretary shall maintain a staffing model for the offices under paragraph
(1)that ensures a minimum base level of capital asset staffing. The Secretary shall update the staffing model under subparagraph
(A)regularly to ensure it is effective in achieving the goals of this section. In the case of a State or territory of the United States in which the Department does not operate a full-service medical center, the office required under paragraph
(1)shall be located at the largest medical facility of the Department in that State or territory, and any reference in this section to a medical center shall be deemed to be a reference to that medical facility. The Secretary shall establish appropriate professional certifications, educational background, and other qualifications to be required of individuals employed at a position in an office described in subsection
(a)to manage the duties of such position under this section. The duties of an office described in subsection
(a)for a medical center of the Department shall include the following: The development, monitoring, and implementation of capital asset objectives for the catchment area surrounding the medical center, including community-based outpatient clinics and other sites of care of the Department in that area. The coordination of capital asset management and planning with counterparts at other medical centers of the Department in the region and facility planners for the Veterans Integrated Service Network or Networks in the region. Effective delivery of capital asset projects. Maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure. Constantly monitoring the needs of veterans and employees of the Department as it relates to medical space and services at the medical center and facilities in the catchment area surrounding the medical center to forward plan and identify and submit plans, through processes of the Department, to meet those needs, including by formulating local and regional capital improvement and asset management plans for medical facilities of the Department through the regular collection of— views and expectations of veterans in that area who are eligible users of health care and related services provided by the Department with respect to— preferences and needs of those veterans for the care received from medical facilities of the Department in that area; and the need for improvements and enhancements to infrastructure of the Department; and views of relevant medical staff of the Department at the medical center and facilities in that catchment area regarding their preferences and needs for how to deliver health care to veterans and how those preferences impact the infrastructure needs of the Department. Having an understanding of the capital asset policies, procedures, and directives of the Department, including those issued by the central office of the Department, Veterans Integrated Service Networks, the Veterans Health Administration, the Office of Information and Technology, the Office of Management, the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, the Office of General Counsel, or any successor offices, and any other office of the Department with significant responsibility over capital asset management and planning. Implementing locally those policies, procedures, and directives. Providing feedback regarding ways in which those policies, procedures and directives can be improved. Having an understanding of the importance for collaboration and coordination among all relevant offices of the Department, including the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, the Office of Asset Enterprise Management, the Office of Information and Technology, and other internal stakeholders as required to achieve success in all phases of capital asset management. Views and expectations may be collected under paragraph (1)(E) through multiple channels and the process used for such collection shall ensure that the views and expectations collected provide a representative sample of the population from which such views and expectations are collected. Any information collected under paragraph (1)(E) shall be collected in a manner that provides an option for submission of views that are anonymous and confidential. In collecting views and expectations of veterans and medical staff under paragraph (1)(E), an office described in subsection
(a)for a medical center of the Department shall ensure that the viewpoints of a diverse population of veterans being served by the medical center and medical staff of the medical center or in the catchment area of the medical center are captured. The Secretary shall develop a standardized process to regularly solicit feedback from individuals and entities described in paragraph
(2)regarding the effectiveness of and ways to improve— the infrastructure and asset management investment processes and procedures of the central office of the Department and Veterans Integrated Service Networks of the Department; and the guidance of the central office and Veterans Integrated Service Networks regarding such processes and procedures to the medical centers, facilities in the catchment area of those medical centers, and Veterans Integrated Service Networks, as appropriate. The individuals and entities described in this paragraph are the following: Each office described in subsection
(a)for a medical center of the Department. Medical staff of the Department at facilities in the catchment area of the medical center. Veterans Integrated Service Networks. Staff of offices within the central office of the Department, including the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, the Office of Asset Enterprise Management, the Office of Information and Technology, and the Office of Healthcare Environment and Facilities Programs. Any information collected under paragraph
(1)shall be collected in a manner that provides an option for submission of views that are anonymous and confidential. The Secretary shall use the results of the report required under section 202 in establishing the offices required under subsection
(a)and carrying out any other requirements of this section.