ADVISORY COMMITTEE

January 2007

VISION

The vision of the Heartland National TB Center is to provide excellence, expertise, and innovation in training, medical consultation, and product development to reduce the impact of tuberculosis in our region.

MISSION

The mission of the Heartland National TB Center is to build capacity with our partners. We will share expertise in the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis by: developing and implementing cutting edge trainings, delivering expert medical consultation, providing technical assistance, and designing innovative educational and consultative products.

  1. The Committee: An Advisory Committee shall be appointed under this section.
    1. The name of the advisory committee shall be the Heartland National TB Center Advisory Committee.
  2. Purpose: The purpose of the committee is to provide advice to the RTMCC on strategies for:
    1. providing training and technical assistance to increase human resource development in TB programs;
    2. developing TB educational materials, and
    3. providing medical consultation to TB programs and medical providers.
  3. Tasks: An Advisory Committee shall be appointed under this section.
    1. The committee shall advise the Center on issues relating to training, technical assistance, product development and medical consultation for 13 states within the U.S. including: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
    2. The committee shall carry out any other tasks as deemed appropriate by agreement of the committee and HNTC.
  4. Composition: The committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the HNTC. The composition of the committee shall include:
    1. 3 TB Controllers representing the 13 States of the HNTC region;
    2. 3 TB Focal points representing the 13 states of the HNTC region;
    3. 3 Medical Consultants representing the 13 states of the HNTC region;
    4. 3 Nurse Consultants and;
    5. The Medical Director/PI, the Assistant Medical Director/PI and one additional member of the HNTC leadership team.
  5. Terms of Office: The term of office of each member shall be 1 year (rotating). Members shall serve after expiration of their term until a replacement is appointed.
    1. Members shall be appointed for staggered terms so that the terms of a substantial equivalent number of members will expire on December 31st of each odd-numbered year. All members appointed in 2007 will serve at least until December of 2008.
    2. If a vacancy occurs, a person shall be appointed to serve the unexpired portion of that term.
  6. Meetings: The committee shall meet only as necessary to conduct committee business. The committee will meet a minimum of one time per year in person and two to three times per year through conference calls.
    1. Meeting arrangements shall be made by HNTC staff. Staff shall contact committee members to determine availability for a meeting date and place.
  7. Each member of the committee shall be informed of a committee meeting or conference call at least 30 days before the meeting or call.
  8. Attendance: Members shall attend committee meetings as scheduled. Members shall attend meetings of subcommittees to which the member is assigned.
    1. A member shall notify HNTC staff if he or she is unable to attend a scheduled meeting.
    2. It is grounds for removal from the committee if a member cannot discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the member is appointed because of illness or disability, is absent more than half of the committee and subcommittee meetings during a calendar year, or is absent for at least three consecutive committee meetings.
  9. Staff: Staff support for the committee shall be provided by the Center.
    1. Minutes of each committee meeting shall be taken by Center staff.
      1. A draft of the minutes approved by the presiding officer shall be provided to the members of the committee within 30 days of each meeting.
  10. Subcommittees: The committee may establish subcommittees as deemed appropriate by both the committee and HNTC to assist the Advisory Committee in carrying out its duties.
    1. The chair shall appoint members of the committee to serve on subcommittees and to act as subcommittee chairpersons.
    2. Subcommittees shall meet when called by the subcommittee chairperson or when so directed by the committee.
    3. A subcommittee chairperson shall make regular reports to the committee at each committee/conference call meeting or in interim written reports as needed.
  11. Reimbursement for Expenses: Members of the Advisory Committee will be entitled to travel expense reimbursement for their time on the committee depending upon the allowable budget for the Center.