National Health Service Corps

and NURSE Corps Rural Recruitment

Kimberly Kleine, Deputy Associate AdministratorBureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service

Health Resources and Services Administrationkkleine@hrsa.gov

State Offices of Rural Health MeetingSeptember 11, 2013

Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service

• Through the National Health Service Corps and NURSE Corps, HRSA’s Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service repays educational loans and provides scholarships to support the recruitment and retention of health professionals to work in medically underserved communities.

U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS)

Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA)

Health Resources and Services

Administration (HRSA)

Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service (BCRS)

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National Health Service Corps Today• More than 40,000 clinicians have served in

NHSC Expanding access to health care; Improving the health of people who live in urban

and rural areas, where health care is often scarce.• NHSC consists of nearly 10,000* clinicians

currently working in underserved communities

• NHSC Programs Loan Repayment (NHSC LRP) Student to Service Loan Repayment Program

(S2S) - Pilot Scholarships (NHSC SP) State Loan Repayment (SLRP)

*As of September 30, 2012

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NHSC Field Strength*

3,601 4,808

7,530

10,279 9,908

8,000

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

*FY 2011 included clinicians funded through the Recovery Act, Base Appropriations, and the Affordable Care Act FY 2013 Projection is as of July 2013

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FY 2013 NHSC Funding

• $300 Million – ACA funding• Award estimates by program

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*Revised from Feb 6, 2013 press release which reported 89 award offers made**Approximately 1,800 new & 2,400 continuationsǂ182 new & 16 continuationsǂǂ32 continuations

Programs Number of Awards

Applications

S2S Loan Repayment Program 78* 100NHSC Loan Repayment Program 4,200** 5,706NHSC Scholarship Program 198ǂ 1,738State Loan Repayment Program 32ǂǂ 32

Students to Service Loan Repayment Program

• Program Requirements/Eligibility Physicians in 4th year of training Must match to primary care residency Placement in a HPSA of 14 or higher Placement assistance provided $120,000 for a 3-Year commitment

• FY 2013 Application Cycle 78 Awards; 100 Applications Received Average debt per application over $200,000

• FY 2014 Application Cycle (September – November 2013) 100 Awards Planned 6

NHSC Loan Repayment Program

• FY 2013 Application Cycle Over 5,700 Applications Received; 1,800 New

Awards planned Two funding levels based on community need

• HPSAs 14 & above – up to $60,000• HPSAs 13 & below – up to $40,000

Electronic Employment Verification

• FY 2014 Application Cycle (January - March 2014)

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NHSC Scholarship Program• FY 2013 Application Cycle

182 New Awards made; 16 Continuations 1,738 Applications received

• Regional Offices manage Scholar Placement• Getting Prepared for Service (GPS) Program

Webinars; Social Media; Mentor Program Virtual Job Fairs

• FY 2014 Application Cycle (February – April 2014)

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State Loan Repayment Program• Eligible Applicants–States; Matching Requirement• Lots of Flexibility in Program Design

Eligible disciplines Length of service commitment Amount of loan repayment Practice sites

• FY 2013 Application Cycle – 32 Continuations Disciplines Added in 2012 – Pharmacists & Registered

Nurses New Site Types – Nursing Homes; Critical Access Hospitals;

State, County and Local Mental Health Hospitals

• FY 2014 Application Cycle – New Competition All 50 states, DC and U.S. territories will be eligible to apply9

State Loan Repayment Program Grantees

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NURSE Corps• The NURSE Corps offers loan repayment and

scholarships to nurses, including nurse practitioners, who work in health centers, rural health clinics, hospitals, and other facilities experiencing a critical shortage of nurses

• NURSE Corps consists of approximately 3,000 registered and advanced practice nurses providing care in communities where they are needed most

• NURSE Corps Programs NURSE Corp Loan Repayment Program NURSE Corps Scholarship Program

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NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program• Assistance to nurses working in a Critical Shortage Facility

or nurse faculty employed by an accredited school of nursing. Repayment of 60 percent of outstanding qualified educational

loans for a 2-year commitment May receive repayment of an additional 25 percent for a 3rd

year of service • Eligible disciplines include licensed registered nurse

(including NP and other APN) or nurse faculty, have completed training leading to a diploma, associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree

• FY 2013 Application Cycle Over 4,600 Applications Received; 580 New Awards

planned• FY 2014 Application Cycle (January - February 2014)

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NURSE Corps Scholarship Program• Helps students complete their nursing education by

paying tuition, fees, other education costs, a monthly living stipend, in exchange for working at a health care facility with a shortage of nurses, known as a Critical Shortage Facility. Full-time nursing students accepted or enrolled in

diploma, associate, baccalaureate or graduate nursing programs

As much as half of award funds are reserved for students pursuing a master’s level nurse practitioner degree

• FY 2013 Application Cycle Over 2,600 Applications Received; 240 New Awards

planned• FY 2014 Application Cycle (March - May 2014)

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Rural Outreach

Rural Field Strength

15

55%

921

695

635

47 544

1289

MD/DO NP PACNM DDS/RDH M/BRURALURBAN

• 29 states and 3 U.S. territories have a majority of their NHSC providers serving at rural sites including Arkansas, Hawaii, North Carolina, and South Dakota

NHSC Critical Access Hospital Site Pilot

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• August 2011, White House Rural Council expanded eligibility for the NHSC to include Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)

• CAHs must meet applicable program requirements and be affiliated with an outpatient, ambulatory clinic

• Over 70% of the nearly 1,350 CAHs are currently located in a HPSA

• As of September 2013: 175 CAHs have been approved to be NHSC service sites;

7 applications currently under review 51 NHSC LRPs providers working in CAHs verses 7 prior

to the pilot

NHSC Rural Sites & Vacancy Data• 14,000+ Approved NHSC Sites

8,148 are rural sites & 3,282 have completed site profiles 2,985 (37%) of Rural Sites are FQHCs; 86 (1.1%) are FQHC

Look-a-Likes; 877 (11%) are RHCs• 3,083 Vacancies/Job Opportunities

1,657 rural site Vacancies• As of September 2013, rural sites vacancies are as

follows: 914 primary care provider vacancies posted (among 530

sites) 130 dental provider vacancies posted (among 114 sites) 613 mental health care provider vacancies posted (among

305 sites) 11 rural sites have vacancies posted in all three categories

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NHSC Recruitment Strategies

NHSC Jobs Centernhscjobs.hrsa.gov

• Launched May 2012 – Totally Redesigned Site Uses Google Maps Technology Includes a Site Profile – Sites can “Tell their Story” Enhanced Search Features – Site, Vacancy, HPSA

score, city, or state

• October 1, 2012 through May 31, 2013: 323,559 visits to the NHSC Jobs Center from 191,346 unique visitors

• Averages more than 40,400 visits per month• 6,050 completed Jobs Center site profiles

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NHSC Jobs Centernhscjobs.hrsa.gov

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NHSC Virtual Job Fairs• Employers and Job Seekers come together virtually• Two of the three NHSC Virtual Job Fairs held in 2012

focused on recruitment at NHSC sites located in rural communities 48 presentations representing 182 individual NHSC-approved

rural sites from 19 states (in the Midwest, Southwest, Western and Pacific), and promoting approximately 336 job opportunities to more than 400 primary care clinicians from across the country

18 sites have reported they were contacted by job seekers in the week after the job fair.

• Scholar Placement VJF -- on July 20, 2013 & August 10, 2013 Invited 3RNet and their affiliates to promote job vacancies to

NHSC Scholars  New Mexico Health Services highlighted vacancies located at

five NHSC sites to nearly twenty scholar participants

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NHSC Ambassadors

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• Dedicated volunteers who help educate and inform prospective Corps members and inspire and motivate students to provide primary health care in communities with limited access to care.

• Give their time and talents to spread the word about the opportunities available through the NHSC and serve as additional local resources for current NHSC members.

• There are nearly 1,000 active Ambassadors located in every state and territories of the United States

• To learn more about the Ambassador Program visit http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/ambassadors/

Corps Community Day“Access Today. Healthy Communities Tomorrow.”

• Celebrates the important work of the NHSC to increase access to primary care in medically underserved communities Thursday, October 10, 2013 Held annually during National Primary Care Week

• 74 events in 38 states & District of Columbia & Puerto Rico (so far)

• Help make Corps Community Day by planning an event• “Event in a Box” one-page guides make it easy to plan

a Health Insurance Marketplace Q&A session or other Corps Community Day event or activity

• Email CorpsCommunityDay@hrsa.gov to get involved

For More Information About Our Programs

National Health Service Corps• www.NHSC.hrsa.gov • Facebook.com/NationalHealthServiceCorps• Twitter.com/NHSCorps

NURSE Corps• www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/nursecorps/• Facebook.com/HRSANURSECorps

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Questions/Discussion