,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aehi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #bh1  
#bjac,mr4 ,burr introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,veterans'        
,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend title    
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 to require  
the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to 
ensure the ,department of ,veterans     
,affairs has an up-to-date policy on    
reporting of cases of infectious        
diseases1 to require an independent     
assessment of the ,veterans ,integrated 
,service ,networks and medical centers  
of the ,department1 and for other       
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,improving ,quality 
of ,care ,within the ,department of     
,veterans ,affairs ,act of #bjac4  #b4  
,requirement for ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs policy on reporting  
cases of infectious diseases at         
facilities of the ,department  7a7 ,in  
general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #gc 

of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following new section3  #gccj;,b4       
,reporting of infectious diseases  7a7  
,reporting ,the ,secretary shall ensure 
that the ,department has in effect an   
up-to-date policy on reporting a        
notifiable infectious disease diagnosed 
at a facility under the jurisdiction of 
the ,secretary in accordance with the   
provisions of ,state and local law in   
effect where such facility is located4  
7b7 ,notifiable infectious disease ,for 
purposes of this section1 a notifiable  
infectious disease is any infectious    
disease that is-- 7#a7 on the list of   
nationally notifiable diseases published
 by the ,council of ,state and          
,territorial ,epidemiologists and the   
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention2 or  7#b7 covered by a      
provision of law of a ,state that       
requires the reporting of infectious    
diseases4  7c7 ,performance measures    
,the ,secretary shall develop           

performance measures to assess whether  
and to what degree the directors of     
,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks
 and ,department medical centers are    
complying with the policy required by   
subsection 7a74  4  7b7 ,clerical       
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter #gc of such title  
is amended by inserting after the item  
relating to section #gccj;,a the        
following new item3  #gccj;,b4          
,reporting of infectious diseases4  4   
#c4 ,independent assessment of the      
,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks
 and medical centers of ,department of  
,veterans ,affairs  7a7 ,contract  7#a7 
,in general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans
 ,affairs shall seek to enter into a    
contract with an independent third-party
 to perform the services covered by this
 section4  7#b7 ,timing ,the ,secretary 
shall seek to enter into the contract   
described in paragraph 7#a7 not later   
than #bgj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act4  7b7            

,independent study  7#a7 ,in general    
,under a contract between the ,secretary
 and an independent third-party under   
this section1 the third party shall     
carry out a study-- 7,a7 to assess the  
organizational structures of medical    
centers of the ,department of ,veterans 
,affairs2 and  7,b7 to improve          
succession planning among key leadership
 roles at ,veterans ,integrated ,service
 ,networks and medical centers of the   
,department4  7#b7 ,matters studied and 
proposed ,in carrying out the study1 the
 third party shall-- 7,a7 assess whether
 organizational structure of the medical
 centers of the ,department is effective
 for the furnishing of medical services1
 addressing issues that arise regarding 
the furnishing of medical services1 and 
addressing standard business operations2
  7,b7 propose one organizational chart 
for ,department medical centers with a  
common set of base position             
descriptions2  7,c7 propose a base set  
of medical positions that should be     

filled to ensure that the health care   
provided to veterans by the ,department 
is of good quality2 and  7,d7 identify  
which key leadership positions at       
,veterans ,integrated ,service ,networks
 and ,department medical centers should 
have succession plans and propose how to
 implement such plans4  7c7 ,report ,not
 later than #ij days after the date on  
which the third party completes the     
study under this section1 the ,secretary
 shall submit to the ,committee on      
,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of
 the ,house of ,representatives a report
 on the results of such study4