42 U.S.C. § 912 : US Code - Section 912: Office of Rural Health Policy

Search 42 U.S.C. § 912 : US Code - Section 912: Office of Rural Health Policy

(a) There shall be established in the Department of Health and
Human Services (in this section referred to as the "Department") an
Office of Rural Health Policy (in this section referred to as the
"Office"). The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall
advise the Secretary on the effects of current policies and
proposed statutory, regulatory, administrative, and budgetary
changes in the programs established under subchapters XVIII and XIX
of this chapter on the financial viability of small rural
hospitals, the ability of rural areas (and rural hospitals in
particular) to attract and retain physicians and other health
professionals, and access to (and the quality of) health care in
rural areas.
(b) In addition to advising the Secretary with respect to the
matters specified in subsection (a) of this section, the Director,
through the Office, shall -
(1) oversee compliance with the requirements of section 1302(b)
of this title and section 4403 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1987 (as such section pertains to rural
health issues),
(2) establish and maintain a clearinghouse for collecting and
disseminating information on -
(A) rural health care issues, including rural mental health,
rural infant mortality prevention, and rural occupational
safety and preventive health promotion,
(B) research findings relating to rural health care, and
(C) innovative approaches to the delivery of health care in
rural areas, including programs providing community-based
mental health services, pre-natal and infant care services, and
rural occupational safety and preventive health education and
promotion,
(3) coordinate the activities within the Department that relate
to rural health care,
(4) provide information to the Secretary and others in the
Department with respect to the activities, of other Federal
departments and agencies, that relate to rural health care,
including activities relating to rural mental health, rural
infant mortality, and rural occupational safety and preventive
health promotion, and
(5) administer grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to
provide technical assistance and other activities as necessary to
support activities related to improving health care in rural
areas.