National Health Service Corps Rural Community Loan Repayment Program (NHSC Rural Community LRP)
Link
https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loan-repayment/nhsc-rural-community-loan-repayment-program
Additional Links
Deadline
Application Deadline: May 9, 2024
Sponsor
Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW)
Purpose
Provides funding for loan repayment for primary care and behavioral/mental health professionals in exchange for service commitments at National Health Service Corps (NHSC)-approved sites in Mental Health and Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in rural communities.
Eligible SUD primary care and behavioral/mental health professions include:
- Physicians (MD or DO)
- Physician assistants (PA)
- Nurse practitioners (NP)
- Registered nurses (RN)
- Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA)
- Pharmacists
- Health service psychologists (HSP)
- Licensed clinical social workers (LCSW)
- Psychiatric nurse specialists (PNS)
- Marriage and family therapists (MFT)
- Licensed professional counselors (LPC)
- SUD counselors
- Certified nurse midwives (CNM)
Amount of Funding
A maximum of $100,000 for a 3-year full-time service obligation at a rural NHSC-approved SUD treatment facility in or with a Mental Health or Primary Care HPSA or in a Maternity Care Target Area (MCTA) within a Primary Care HPSA.
A maximum of $50,000 for a 3-year half-time service obligation at a rural NHSC-approved SUD treatment facility in or with a Mental Health or Primary Care HPSA or in a Maternity Care Target Area (MCTA) within a Primary Care HPSA.
A supplemental award enhancement of up to $5,000 is available to providers who demonstrate Spanish language proficiency determined by a verbal proficiency language skills assessment.
Additional practice type and service obligation information is available in the program guidance.
Who Can Apply
Applicants must work in a primary care or behavioral/mental health approved discipline and specialty to be eligible for this program and meet the following requirements:
- Be a U.S. citizen, born or naturalized, or a U.S. national
- Have a current, full, permanent, unencumbered, unrestricted health professional license, certificate, or registration in the discipline in which the individual is applying to serve
- Participate or be eligible to participate as a provider in the Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as appropriate
- Be eligible to hold an appointment as a Commissioned Officer of the Public Health Service or as a federal civil servant
- Be employed by, or have accepted a position at, a rural NHSC-approved SUD treatment facility where employment and provision of care to patients will begin no later than July 18, 2024
- Submit a complete application
NHSC will prioritize applicants by the following funding priorities when making loan repayment awards:
- Current or former NHSC scholarship recipients that have completed their service obligation and continue to have eligible student loans
- Applicants who demonstrate characteristics that
indicate a higher likelihood they will remain in a HPSA
after completing their service obligation, as determined
by the following factors:
- Have completed training through 1 of the
following HRSA-funded programs:
- Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Payment Program
- Advanced Nursing Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Program
- Advanced Nursing Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program
- Applicants with training in a specialty
determined by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services to be needed by the NHSC,
as determined by the following factors:
- Have completed training through 1 of the
following HRSA-funded programs:
- Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
- Graduate Psychology Education Program
- Have completed training through 1 of the
following HRSA-funded programs:
- Applicants and their spouse, if applicable, from a disadvantaged background
- Have completed training through 1 of the
following HRSA-funded programs:
Additional information on funding priority factors can be found in the program guidance.
In fiscal year 2024, maternal healthcare applicants will be placed using either their HPSA score or Maternity Care Target Area score (MCTA), whichever is higher.
Geographic Coverage
Nationwide
What This Program Funds
Financial Aid for Healthcare Workforce
Application Process
Application instructions, requirements, and other information can be found on the program website. Submit an application through the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) portal.
Application and program guidance
Application checklist
Applicant webinar recording
Applicant question and answer session 4
April 24, 2024
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Eastern
Applicant question and answer session 5
May 1, 2024
1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Applicant question and answer session 6
May 8, 2024
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Contact
For questions:
800-221-9393
TTY at 877-897-9910
Online
contact form
Bureau of Health Workforce Customer
Service Portal
Topics This Program Addresses
Healthcare Workforce • Mental Health • Opioids • Prevention • Recovery • Substance Use Disorder • Treatment