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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Financial aid for health career education

The National Health Service Corps
Provides an overview of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program, including the federal scholarship and loan repayment components, and explains how the program affects rural recruitment and retention. Highlights changes in FY2018 focusing on opioid and substance use disorder treatment providers, as well as the provision of funding to expand the number of scholarship and loan repayment awards through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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ASTHO Legislative Prospectus: Rural Health
Discusses legislative trends to support rural healthcare access and facilities. Includes information on developing loan repayment programs for medical providers in rural areas, supporting behavioral healthcare, expanding telehealth, and creating broadband infrastructure.
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) Meeting Minutes, December 7-8, 2021
Summarizes the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice (NACNEP) meeting held on December 7-8, 2021. Includes updates from the Bureau of Health Workforce, a discussion on expanding the nurse workforce, and information on the HRSA Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, among other things.
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice
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Medical School Impact on the Primary Care Physician Shortage in Pennsylvania: Staff Study
Describes training required to become a physician in Pennsylvania and examines issues contributing to primary care physician shortages, including student debt burden, burnout, and low investment in primary care. Features information on primary care initiatives from Pennsylvania's medical schools, including health workforce pipeline programs, and statistics including average number of graduates matching into primary care specialties from each institution, estimates of how many graduates intend to specialize in primary care, and how many are retained by the state. Mentions rural throughout.
Author(s): Bryan W. DeWalt, Stephen J. Kramer, Wendy L. Baker
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Utah's Mental Health Workforce 2021: A Study on the Supply and Distribution of Clinical Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Psychologists in Utah
Discusses mental health provider demographic changes, practice characteristic changes, and projections for the future supply of Utah's mental health workforce. Offer policy recommendations for strengthening the rural mental healthcare workforce, and features statistics including county-by-county distribution of mental health professionals, with breakdowns by urban, rural, and frontier locations,
Author(s): Sydney Groesbeck, Jerry Bounsanga, Andrew Salt, Clark Ruttinger
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Utah Health Workforce Information Center
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It Takes a Village: Rural Recruitment and Retention
Provides an overview of the challenges of recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas. Features healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Kansas, describing how they work with their communities to attract healthcare providers.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Recruitment and Retention Issues for Counselors in Rural Pennsylvania Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs
Results of a study of Pennsylvania substance use disorder (SUD) counselors and directors of treatment programs and clinics, to assess the characteristics of treatment counselors in rural Pennsylvania counties and how those characteristics relate to recruitment and retention issues. Also examines how well higher education institutions in rural counties prepare those entering the profession, and analyzes the effectiveness of state-level incentives, like the student loan repayment program, to attract potential SUD counselors. Features statistics on counselors' characteristics and duties, and client characteristics.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Jennifer Murphy
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Caring for America: Legislation to Support Patients, Caregivers, and Providers
Recording of a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on legislation related to funding for behavioral and mental health services for the healthcare workforce; a loan repayment program for local, state, and tribal public health professionals; increasing diversity in allied health professions; improving health outcomes in underserved communities through the use of community health workers; and more. Includes testimony from the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Augusta University, Ballad Health, and others.
Additional links: Alan Levine, Ballad Health - Testimony, Brooks A. Keel, Augusta University - Testimony, Lisa Macon Harrison, National Association of County and City Health Officials - Testimony
Date: 10/2021
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
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Oklahoma National Health Service Corps Providers (NHSC) All Disciplines
Map of Oklahoma showing the locations of all National Health Service Corps (NHSC) dental health, mental health, and primary care providers in the state.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Oklahoma Office of Primary Care and Rural Health Development
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2021 Maryland Primary Care Needs Assessment
Identifies areas of focus for primary, dental, and mental healthcare and services in Maryland. Includes sections on Health Professional Shortage Areas, Medically Underserved Areas and Populations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, the J-1 Visa Waiver program, and the State Loan Repayment Program.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maryland Department of Health
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