HHS awards $149M to increase primary care workforce, training

The HHS Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded $149.1 million in grants to a dozen primary care workforce programs aimed at bolstering and training the newest ranks of PCPs across the United States.

“These awards will help increase access to quality health care for all Americans by educating and training culturally competent providers who are prepared to practice in high-need areas,” Jim Macrae, MA, MPP, HRSA acting administrator, said in a press release. “By encouraging partnerships among academic institutions, clinicians, health care sites and public health entities, we can improve health outcomes in underserved communities.”

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), not enough medical students are choosing primary care to fulfill the expected future need. At a time when PCPs are increasingly asked to do more, the 2016 National Residency Matching Program showed that 3,105 medical students chose to go into family medicine, an increase of 45 students from 2015, representing the field’s smallest growth since 2012.

The new HRSA grants will be awarded through the following programs:

Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students, $42.3 million for 78 health professions schools aimed at increasing diversity in the primary care workforce through providing scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds;
Nurse Faculty Loan Program, $24.4 million to be distributed to 89 nursing schools to increase the pool of qualified nursing faculty in the United States;
Advance Education Nursing Traineeship, $22.9 million funding 69 advanced nursing programs training advanced practical nurses, with a focus on those providing primary care services in rural and underserved communities;
Primary Care Training and Enhancement, $14.5 million funding 33 grants to hospitals, medical schools, academically affiliated physician assistant training programs and other entities to improve the “quality, quantity, distribution and diversity” of PCPs through expanded curriculums and training programs;
Advanced Nursing Education, $11.3 million for 19 projects developing and testing academic-practice partnership models for clinical training for primary care and advanced-practice nursing students;
Graduate Psychology Education, $7.7 million supporting 31 grants to prepare psychologists to better address the behavioral health needs of underserved and rural communities, and to integrate behavioral health into primary care practice;
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, $7.4 million funding 20 grants to train postdoctoral health care professionals in primary care research;
Nursing Workforce Diversity, $4.5 million funding 13 grants to increase nursing education opportunities for those from disadvantaged backgrounds through scholarships or stipends for degree programs;
Academic Units for Primary Care Training and Enhancement, $4.4 million for six grants tasked with improving clinical teaching and research in primary care;
Nurse Education Practice Quality and Retention – Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, $4.3 million funding nine grants aimed at combining interprofessional and collaborative models of behavioral health services into routine primary care services provided by nurses in vulnerable and underserved populations;
Nurse Education Practice Quality and Retention – Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Practicums in Community Settings, $3.1 million supporting nine grants to establish and expand academic-practice partnerships between nursing schools and community-based clinical sites, providing senior-level BSN students with training in medically underserved and rural areas; and
Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship, $2.3 million funding 80 nurse anesthetist education programs for licensed registered nurses.

“Our vision is to positively impact every aspect of the health professional’s career, from education and training, to service,” Macrae said. “These awards will increase the number of health professionals providing quality care to the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

Additional reading:

http://bhw.hrsa.gov/grants/0716healthworkforceawards/index.html

http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/index.html

http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/index.html