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Health Care Heroes. National Health Service Corps (NHSC). History. In the ‘50s &‘60s a health care crises emerged in the U.S. Thus, National Health Service Corps was established through the Emergency Health Personnel Act. Purpose of NHSC.
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Health Care Heroes National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
History • In the ‘50s &‘60s a health care crises emerged in the U.S. • Thus, National Health Service Corps was established through the Emergency Health Personnel Act
Purpose of NHSC • Recruit health professionals to serve health professional shortage areas (HPSAs)
What are HPSAs? • Areas designated by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services as having a shortage of health professionals.
Health Professional Shortage Areas • Search HPSAs by state, county and discipline at http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov/
Health Professional Shortage Areas • 50 million Americans live in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) • More than 3,000 federally designated HPSAs exist across the U.S. and its territories
Workforce Shortages • Over 4,600 active NHSC clinicians serve nearly 5 million Americans • HRSA estimates that an additional 26,657 practitioners are needed to meet the target HPSA practitioner to population ratio.
PCP Shortage • NHSC has over 4,000 open positions at member clinics across the country • There is a vacancy rate of 13% in Community Health Centers (CHCs) that are frequently staffed through NHSC; as high as 16% in rural areas
PCPs in Metropolitan and Rural Areas Nonmetropolitan primary care health professional shortage area designations, 1980–2001 Note. FTE = full-time equivalent
Disparity Between Rural and Urban Areas • Rural-urban gap increased over time. Active physicians per 100 000 population, by year and location (urban or rural)
PCP Retention in HPSAs Retention curves for PCPs in rural HPSA (n = 300) and non-HPSA (n = 195) settings
Where Do NHSC Clinicians Serve? • NHSC clinicians serve in communities in • every State • the District of Columbia • Puerto Rico • the Pacific Basin • the U.S. Virgins Islands
Opportunities in NHSC • Student/Resident Experiences and Rotations in Community Health (SEARCH) • Scholarship Program • Loan Repayment Program • State Loan Repayment Program
SEARCH Program • Provides health professions students and residents opportunity to serve in underserved areas
Scholarship Program • A highly competitive program in which selected applicants receive payment of tuition and fees, books, supplies and equipment for up to 4 years in addition to a monthly stipend.
Who Qualifies for Scholarship Program? Full-time students enrolled or attending fully accredited U.S.: • Allopathic or osteopathic medical schools • Family nurse practitioner programs • Nurse-midwifery programs • Physician assistant programs • Dental schools
Loan Repayment Program • A highly competitive program in which selected applicants agree to provide full-time primary care services in HPSA
Who Qualifies for Loan Repayment Program? • Allopathic or osteopathic primary care physicians • Primary care certified nurse practitioners • Primary care physician assistants • Certified nurse-midwives • General practice dentists • Registered clinical dental hygienists • Health service psychologists • Clinical social workers • Licensed professional counselors • Marriage and family therapists • Psychiatric nurse specialists
State Loan Repayment Program • NHSC provides matching funds directly to States to operate their own loan repayment programs
Decrease in Appropriations • Over the past 5 years, funding for NHSC has been cut by $47 million. • This is over 27% of 2003 budget that was already insufficient in FY 2003.
NHSC Appropriations (2003, 2008, 2009) NHSC Appropriations ($ in millions)* *Combined NHSC Field and Recruitment appropriations
Recommendation for FY 2010 • For FY 2010, we recommend NHSC Field and Recruitment appropriations of $235 million.