(e) The Assistant Inspector General for Health Care Quality Assurance Review, in addition to performing (with respect to activities of the Department of Medicine and Surgery) such other functions and duties prescribed for the Inspector General of the Veterans' Administration in the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 3) as may be directed by the Inspector General, shall—

(1) monitor, including through reviews of Veterans' Adminis tration health-care facilities, the establishment and implementation of the health-care quality assurance and risk management programs of the Department of Medicine and Surgery;

(2) monitor the activities of the Medical Inspector General of the Department of Medicine and Surgery;

(3) recommend that the Medical Inspector General of the Department of Medicine and Surgery conduct such investigations as the Assistant Inspector General for Health Care Quality Assurance Review considers appropriate;

(4) coordinate the activities of the Assistant Inspector General with the activities of the Medical Inspector General of the Department of Medicine and Surgery;

(5) review any investigation conducted by the Medical Inspector General of the Department of Medicine and Surgery of any adverse incident or incidents occurring during the course of furnishing health-care services in a Veterans' Administration facility or facilities and make such recommendations for additional action to such Medical Inspector General as the Assistant Inspector General considers appropriate;

(6) monitor and analyze the collection and analysis of quality assurance and risk management information by the Department of Medicine and Surgery (including information relating to medical malpractice claims), review such quality assurance and risk management information in order to identify data that is not collected and should be collected, and monitor the analysis by the Department of Medicine and Surgery of trends in the provision of health-care services by such Department;

(7) make to the Inspector General such recommendations for corrective action on health-care matters as the Assistant Inspector General considers appropriate; and

(8) monitor the implementation of recommendations for corrective action made to the Administrator by the Inspector General on health-care matters.

(f) The Inspector General of the Veterans' Administration, in addition to preparing and submitting the reports required by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 3), shall submit to the Administrator and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives, not later than February 1 of each year, a report containing

(1) a discussion of the activities undertaken by the Assistant Inspector General for Health Care Quality Assurance Review during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the report is submitted, including

(A) the findings and conclusions resulting from such activities;

(B) the recommendations made (on the basis of such activities) by the Inspector General to the Administrator for

corrective action in the activities of the Department of Medicine and Surgery; and

(C) any corrective actions taken with respect to those recommendations; and

(2) a discussion of the activities undertaken by the Assistant Inspector General for Health Care Quality Assurance Review to monitor the activities of the Medical Inspector General of the Department of Medicine and Surgery during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the report is submitted, including

(A) the findings of the Inspector General of the Veterans' Administration and the Assistant Inspector General on the activities of the Medical Inspector General during such preceding fiscal year;

(B) the recommendations, if any, made by the Inspector General of the Veterans' Administration to the Chief Medical Director or the Administrator on the basis of such monitoring activities, including any recommendations for remedial or disciplinary actions as a result of such activities; and

(C) an assessment of the extent to which the Inspector General has been effective during such preceding fiscal year in bringing about such recommended remedial and disciplinary actions.

(g) The rate of pay for the position of Assistant Inspector General for Health Care Quality Assurance Review shall be the same rate of pay established for the positions of the other Assistant Inspectors General of the Veterans' Administration.

PART II-GENERAL BENEFITS

CHAPTER 17-HOSPITAL, NURSING HOME, DOMICILIARY, AND MEDICAL CARE

SUBCHAPTER II-HOSPITAL, NURSING HOME OR
DOMICILIARY CARE AND MEDICAL TREATMENT

§ 612A. Eligibility for readjustment counseling and related mental health services

(a)(1) Upon the request of [any veteran who served on active duty during the Vietnam era, the Administrator shall, within the limits of Veterans' Administration facilities, furnish counseling to such veteran to assist such veteran in readjusting to civilian life.]

(A) any veteran who served on active duty during the Viet

nam era, or

(B) any veteran who served on active duty after May 7, 1975, in an area during a period in which hostilities (as defined in paragraph (3) of this subsection) occurred in such area,

the Administrator shall furnish counseling to assist such veteran in readjusting to civilian life. Such counseling shall include a general mental and psychological assessment to ascertain whether such veteran has mental or psychological problems associated with readjustment to civilian life.

(2) Upon the request of (A) any veteran who served on active duty during World War II or the Korean conflict, or (B) any person who is serving on active duty and who served on active duty during either of the periods described in clause (A) or (B) of the first sentence of paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Administrator may furnish counseling to such veteran or person in overcoming any psychological problems associated with such veteran's or person's service during such period. In furnishing counseling under clause (A) of the first sentence of this paragraph, the Administrator shall place particular emphasis on the needs of those who engaged in combat with the enemy. Such counseling shall include a general mental and psychological assessment to ascertain whether such veteran or person has mental or psychological problems associated with such veteran's or person's active military, naval, or air service.

(3) For the purposes of subparagraph (1)(B) of this subsection, the term "hostilities" means a situation in which members of the Armed Forces were, as determined by the Administrator in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, subjected to danger from armed conflict comparable to the danger to which members of the Armed Forces have been subjected in battle with the enemy during a period of war.

(d)(1) The Chief Medical Director may provide for such training of professional, paraprofessional, and lay personnel as is necessary to carry out this section effectively, and, in carrying out this section, may utilize the services of paraprofessionals, individuals who are volunteers working without compensation, and individuals who are veteran-students (as described in section 1685 of this title) in initial intake and screening activities.

(2)(A) Any individual who has satisfactorily completed 2 years of substantially continuous employment in the program established to carry out this section under a time-limited appointment and who is so employed on the ninetieth day after the date of the enactment of this paragraph shall be converted by the Administrator to careerconditional or career employment. Such conversion shall be accomplished not later than (i) 30 days after the date on which such 2year period has expired, or (ii) 120 days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, whichever is the later. An employee converted under this paragraph shall automatically acquire a competitive

status.

(B) Not later than 15 days after an individual becomes entitled to conversion under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Adminis

trator shall notify such individual of such entitlement and the timetable for such employee's conversion.

(g)[(1) During the 24-month period ending on September 30, 1989, the Administrator shall take appropriate steps to ensure

[(A) the orderly, gradual transition, by October 1, 1989, of that part of the program established under this section for the provision of readjustment counseling services by Veterans' Administration personnel from a program providing such services primarily through centers located in facilities situated apart from the health-care facilities operated by the Veterans' Administration for the provision of other health-care services under other provisions of this chapter to a program providing readjustment counseling services primarily through such health-care facilities; and

[(B) the continued availability after such date of readjustment counseling and related mental health services under this section to veterans eligible for the provision of such counseling and services who request such counseling.]

(1XA) No Vet Center in existence on July 1, 1987, may be closed or relocated to another location unless the Chief Medical Director—

(i) determines, in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph and pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Chief Medical Director, that such closure or relocation will not result in any diminution in the continuing availability and effective furnishing of readjustment counseling services to persons entitled to and needing such services in the geographic area served by such Vet Center, and so certifies in the notification described in clause (iii) of this subparagraph;

(ii) in the case of such a relocation, certifies in such notification that the requirements of subparagraph (C) of this paragraph will be met; and

(iii) provides to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives at least 60 days prior to any such closure or relocation a notification thereof, including a description of the results of the consideration given to the factors specified in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.

(B) In making a determination under clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Chief Medical Director shall give full consideration to

(i) the distribution of Vietnam-era veterans in the geographical area served by the existing Vet Center and the relationships between the location of such Vet Center and the general Veterans' Administration facility and such distribution;

(ii) the distance between the existing Vet Center and the general Veterans' Administration facility;

(iii) the acceptability of the proposed closure or relocation to (I) the staff of both the existing Vet Center and the general Veterans' Administration facility, (II) representatives of veterans' service organizations located in the geographic area served by the existing Vet Center, and (III) individual veterans who are being furnished services at the existing Vet Center;

(iv) the availability of other entities, such as State, local, or private outreach facilities, which provide assistance to Vietnam-era veterans in the area served by the existing Vet Center; (v) the availability of transportation to, and parking at, the existing Vet Center and the general Veterans' Administration facility;

(vi) the availability, cost, and suitability of the space at the general Veterans' Administration facility, including the opportunity to establish a direct entry into the area where readjustment counseling services would be furnished and the suitability of the environment where such services would be furnished;

(vii) a comparison of the recurring non-personnel costs of providing readjustment counseling to the same estimated number of veterans at the existing Vet Center and the general Veterans' Administration facility;

(viii) the impact of the proposed closure or relocation on the program at the existing Vet Center pursuant to which eligible veterans are furnished readjustment counseling services by private facilities under a contract with the Veterans' Administration; and

(ix) the workload trends over the prior 2 fiscal years at the existing Vet Center; and

(x) such other factors, specified in the regulations prescribed under subparagraph (A)(i) of this paragraph, as the Chief Medical Director determines are relevant to making the determination described in such subparagraph (A)(i).

(C)(i) Except as provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph, in the case of a relocation of a Vet Center to a general Veterans' Administration facility, not less than the average annual budget and personnel ceiling provided to such Vet Center in each of the 3 fiscal years prior to such relocation (calculated on an annualized basis for any year in which a Vet Center was not operational for an entire year) will remain available to furnish readjustment counseling services for 2 full fiscal years following such relocation.

(ii) In the event that the Chief Medical Director determines at the end of the first full fiscal year following such relocation that the demand for services at the relocated Vet Center's current location, when compared with the demand for services at such Vet Center's prior location, does not then justify the budget and personnel ceiling levels described in division (i) of this subparagraph, the Chief Medical Director may, as an exception to such division, reduce such levels to such levels needed to meet such demand and the estimated future demand for such services if (1) the Chief Medical Director determines that relocation of the Vet Center to a location away from the general Veterans' Administration facility is highly unlikely to result in a demand sufficient to justify the levels initially provided, and (II) the Chief Medical Director promptly notifies the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives of such determinations and the bases therefor.

(DXiXI) Any proposed closure or relocation during any fiscal year after fiscal year 1988 of more than 10 percent of the Vet Centers in existence on July 1, 1987, shall be deemed to be an administrative reorganization for the purposes of section 210(b)(2) of this title.