Dental Faculty Loan Repayment - ??BACKGROUND: Denver Health is one of Colorado’s primary safety-net health systems and one of the nation’s most established Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), serving as the second oldest and fifth largest FQHC in the United States. Denver Health serves a federally designated Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) with a score of 25, reflecting a critical need for oral health providers in the communities it serves. The Department of Dentistry provides comprehensive oral health services across hospital-based, community health center, school-based, and specialty care settings while training the future oral health workforce through accredited Advanced Education Programs in Pediatric Dentistry and General Practice Residency. Faculty members provide direct patient care, supervise residents, participate in scholarly activity, and support interprofessional education. Recruiting and retaining qualified dental faculty remains challenging due to substantial educational debt and the significant salary differential between academic dentistry and private practice. ? ?PURPOSE: The Denver Health Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program (DH-DFLRP) will reduce the educational debt burden of dental faculty and encourage long-term careers in academic dentistry, resident education, and service to underserved populations. ?OBJECTIVE: The program will recruit and retain outstanding faculty members who train pediatric dental and general practice residents while expanding access to high-quality oral health care for underserved communities throughout the Denver metropolitan area and Colorado. Through Denver Health’s integrated safety-net system, faculty and residents provide care to patients facing significant barriers to care, including low-income families, Medicaid beneficiaries, uninsured individuals, and patients with complex medical and social needs. This objective will be accomplished through a five-year faculty loan repayment program coupled with structured faculty development, mentorship, scholarship, and professional growth activities. METHODS: Denver Health will recruit current and newly hired eligible faculty members to apply for participation in the DH-DFLRP. A selection committee will review applications using a standardized scoring rubric and select recipients based on demonstrated commitment to academic dentistry, resident education, patient care, and service. Participants will develop measurable short- and long-term goals in the areas of teaching, clinical care, scholarship, leadership, and community engagement. Upon successful completion of annual program objectives, loan repayment funds will be distributed according to a five-year graduated repayment schedule. Program evaluation will include monitoring faculty retention, recruitment success, professional development outcomes, and the continued training of residents who provide care to underserved populations. By strengthening faculty recruitment and retention, the DH-DFLRP will expand Denver Health’s capacity to educate future oral health professionals while increasing access to high-quality oral health services in one of the nation’s highest-need safety-net environments. FUNDING PRIORITIES AND PREFERENCES: The DH-DFLRP is applying for funding priorities 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 and funding preference qualification 1: pediatric dentistry faculty preference.
