(1) The Mississippi Board of Nursing is designated as the state agency responsible for the administration and supervision of the Nursing Workforce Program as an educational curriculum in the State of Mississippi. It is the intent of the Legislature to develop a nursing workforce able to carry out the scope of service and leadership tasks required of the profession by promoting a strong educational infrastructure between nursing practice and nursing education.

(2) The Mississippi Board of Nursing is authorized to establish an Office of Nursing Workforce within the administrative framework of the board for the purpose of providing coordination and consultation to nursing education and practice. The Nursing Workforce Program shall encompass five (5) interdependent components:

(a) Develop and facilitate implementation of a state educational program directed toward nursing educators regarding health care delivery system changes and the impact these changes will have on curriculum and on the service needs of nurses.

(b) Determine the continuing education needs of the nursing workforce and facilitate such continuing education coursework through the university/college schools of nursing in the state and the community/junior college nursing programs in the state.

(c) Promote and coordinate through the schools of nursing opportunities for nurses prepared at the associate degree and bachelor degree levels to obtain higher degrees.

(d) Apply for and administer grants from public and private sources for the development of the Nursing Workforce Program prescribed in this section.

(e) Establish systems to ensure an adequate supply of nurses to meet the health care needs of the citizens of Mississippi. This will include, but is not limited to, gathering and quantifying dependable data on current nursing workforce capacities and forecasting future requirements. The Office of Nursing Workforce will report its findings annually to the Mississippi Legislature.

(3) Pursuant to the provisions of subsections (1) and (2), the Board of Nursing is authorized to provide for the services of an Office of Nursing Workforce Director and such other professional and nonprofessional staff as may be needed and as funds are available to the Board of Nursing to implement the Nursing Workforce Program prescribed in this section. It shall be the responsibility of such professional staff to coordinate efforts of the bachelor degree schools of nursing, the associate degree schools of nursing and other appropriate agencies in the State of Mississippi to implement the Nursing Workforce Program.

(4) The Board of Nursing shall appoint a Nursing Workforce Advisory Committee composed of health care professionals, health agency administrators, nursing educators and other appropriate individuals to provide technical advice to the Office of Nursing Workforce created in this section. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the Board of Nursing from a list of nominees submitted by appropriate nursing and health care organizations in the State of Mississippi. The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services, but may be reimbursed for actual travel expenses and mileage authorized by law for necessary committee business.

(5) All funds made available to the Board of Nursing for the purpose of nursing workforce shall be administered by the board office for that purpose. The Board of Nursing is authorized to enter into contract with any private person, organization or entity capable of contracting for the purpose of administering this section.

(6) The Nursing Workforce Program and the Office of Nursing Workforce provided for in this section will be established and implemented only if sufficient funds are appropriated to or otherwise available to the Board of Nursing for that purpose.