118 STAT. 2395 PUBLIC LAW 108–422—NOV. 30, 2004 be a reference to the Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. SEC. 425. THOMAS P. NOONAN, JR. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS OUTPATIENT CLINIC. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Veterans Affairs out patient clinic in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act be known and designated as the ‘‘Thomas P. Noonan, Jr. Department of Veterans Affairs Out patient Clinic’’. (b) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the out patient clinic referred to in subsection (a) shall be considered to be a reference to the Thomas P. Noonan, Jr. Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. TITLE V—PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION SEC. 501. PILOT PROGRAM TO STUDY INNOVATIVE RECRUITMENT TOOLS TO ADDRESS NURSING SHORTAGES AT DEPART MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE FACILITIES. (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—(1) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall designate a health care service region, or a section within such a region, in which health care facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs are adversely affected by a shortage of qualified nurses. (2) The Secretary shall conduct a pilot program in the region or section designated under paragraph (1) to determine the effective ness of the use of innovative human capital tools and techniques in the recruitment of qualified nurses for positions at Department health care facilities in such region or section and for the retention of nurses at such facilities. In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall enter into a contract with a private sector entity for services under the pilot program for recruitment of quali fied nurses. (b) PRIVATE SECTOR RECRUITMENT PRACTICES.—For purposes of the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall identify and use recruitment practices that have proven effective for placing qualified individuals in positions that are difficult to fill due to shortages of qualified individuals or other factors. Recruitment prac tices to be reviewed by the Secretary for use in the pilot program shall include— (1) employer branding and interactive advertising strate gies; (2) Internet technologies and automated staffing systems; and (3) the use of recruitment, advertising, and communication agencies. (c) STREAMLINED HIRING PROCESS.—In carrying out the pilot program under this section, the Secretary shall, at health care facilities of the Department in the region or section in which the pilot program is conducted, revise procedures and systems for selecting and hiring qualified nurses to reduce the length of the hiring process. If the Secretary identifies measures to streamline Deadline. 38 USC 7451 note. New York.
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