NHSC Awards Record $89.9 Million in Scholarships, Loan Repayments

The National Health Service Corps has awarded a record $89.9 million in scholarships and loan repayments to primary health care professionals who work in frontier, rural and inner-city areas that lack access to adequate care.

The FY 2002 awards support 879 new and continuing loan repayment awards and 405 new and continuing scholarship awards. To be eligible, awardees agree to provide health care services for a minimum of two to four years in areas of the country with the greatest shortage of medical professionals.

The loan repayment program is available to primary health care professionals, including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, dentists, dental hygienists and behavioral and mental health clinicians. The scholarship program is open to students enrolled or accepted for enrollment in accredited medical schools, family nurse practitioner programs, certified nurse-midwifery programs, physician assistant programs and dental schools.

The National Health Service Corps is part of a major Presidential initiative to improve access to health care services to those most in need -- especially those in frontier, rural and inner-city communities. The Initiative calls for expanding and reforming the Corps and increasing the number of HHS-supported community health centers across the country. Nearly half of the Corps’ clinicians practice in these community health centers, which provide health care to people regardless of their ability to pay and target services in areas where people face barriers to accessing high-quality care.

President Bush’s FY 2003 budget proposes an additional $45 million increase in the NHSC budget for a total of $191 million, up from $145 million this year. The additional resources will result in awards to about 1,800 physicians, dentists and other clinicians who practice in underserved areas.

More information on the Corps, part of HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration, can be found at: http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov.

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