HRSA’s mission is to expand the nation's capacity to provide access to quality health care for all Americans.  We seek to fulfill this mission by funding some 3,200 community health centers and affiliated clinics nationwide and overseeing their operation.  We also do this by helping to educate sufficient numbers of health care professionals and placing them where the need for their services is greatest.

President Bush wants to help HRSA reach these goals by giving us responsibility for two new, far-reaching Presidential initiatives: the Health Centers Presidential Initiative and the National Health Service Corps Presidential Management Reform Initiative.

Currently, millions of Americans cannot access quality health care because they have no health insurance or cannot afford the health care they require.  As the “access agency,” HRSA is committed to take whatever steps are necessary to strengthen our ability to provide access to health care for all of our people.

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson and HRSA Acting Administrator Betty James Duke have identified changes to HRSA’s organization that will, when implemented, improve our ability to deliver first-rate health care services better, faster and smarter to our most vulnerable citizens.

Their restructuring plan will allow HRSA to more equitably distribute the agency’s workload, improve our focus on the two key Presidential initiatives, and effectively expand vital health care services to Americans.  The plan will transfer the following entities from the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) to its sister entity within HRSA, the Bureau of Health Professions:

·        The National Health Service Corps (NHSC);

·        The Division of Scholarship and Loan Repayment; and

·        The Division of Shortage Designation.

1.  It Means One-Stop Shopping for HRSA’s Health Care Professionals

The restructuring makes sense because it puts in a single bureau the entire spectrum of HRSA’s recruitment, training, loan, scholarship and placement programs for health professionals.

Through provisions contained in Title VII and Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act, six of BHPr’s 10 divisions currently concentrate on attracting, preparing, funding, distributing and retaining a diverse health professions workforce where they’re needed most -- primarily in underserved rural and inner-city areas.

The consolidation of responsibility for HRSA’s health professions programs within BHPr will increase the internal coordination needed to ensure that the right number of health care professionals serve in the right places.  It will allow BHPr to offer a “menu of options” for health professionals’ development through both the NHSC and the Title VII and VIII programs.   This will improve HRSA’s ability to deliver quality primary and preventive health care to needy Americans.

2.  It Will Allow BPHC to Focus More Strongly on CHC Expansion

The restructuring will streamline BPHC, enabling the bureau to target staff and resources on its core responsibility -- the Community Health Centers program.

Why is this important?  Because over the next five years, President Bush’s Health Centers Presidential Initiative intends to increase the number of CHC access sites by 1,200 -- from 3,200 to 4,400.  These planned increases will allow us to double the number of people served, to 22 million annually.  Most of these people have no health insurance.

This expansion will be a top priority for HRSA for many years to come.  It will be a very visible task of great importance to the nation.  BPHC’s leadership in building and maintaining the Community Health Center network is widely respected.   Now, with this restructuring, they will turn their full attention toward making the planned expansion a success.  

3.  It Gives BHPr Responsibility for the President’s NHSC Reform Initiative

The restructuring will place responsibility for President Bush’s proposed National Health Service Corps Presidential Management Reform Initiative squarely in the hands of the bureau already accountable for health care workforce actions – BHPr.

The initiative is designed to improve the Corps’ service to America’s neediest communities.  It will examine several issues, including the ratio of scholarships to loan repayments and other set-asides, and will consider amending the Health Professional Shortage Area definition to include non-physician providers and J-1 and H-1C visa providers practicing in communities.  These efforts will enable the NHSC to more accurately define shortage areas and target placements to areas of greatest need.

Additionally, Congress will soon consider the Corps’ reauthorization.  BHPr will focus on that process, while BPHC works to expand the health center network and the services these sites provide.

4.  It Will Occur Soon

The reorganization will be announced within the next 10 days in a Federal Register notice.  For more information, contact HRSA’s Office of Communications, (301) 443-3376.

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