Project Title: Alaska’s SHARP Program Applicant: Department of Health and Social Services, State of Alaska OHA, SRCHS, DPH, P.O. Box 110616, Juneau, Alaska 99811-0616 Project Director: Robert Sewell, Ph.D. Phone and Fax: Phone (907) 465-4065, Fax (907) 465-6861 Email Address: robert.sewell@alaska.gov Web address: http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/healthplanning/sharp HRSA Request: $4,000,000 total over 4 years (HRSA-22-048, CFDA 93.165) Total Budget: $14,048,460 total over 4 years (federal & non-federal) Purpose: Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) is again applying for federal funding to build upon its firmly established SHARP Program. This will be SHARP’s fifth consecutive grant from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration’s (HRSA) State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). Alaska’s SHARP-1 component is designed to increase retention and recruitment of primary healthcare clinicians, and thereby improve access to care for underserved and vulnerable populations. The strategy provides solid support-for-service financial benefit contingent upon clinicians working with such populations. Varied healthcare and governmental entities have documented the need to increase the number and improve the distribution of outpatient generalist clinicians. They have agreed that continuation of our joint state-federal program with at least 50% non-federal match is a critical step for support-for-service in Alaska. This SHARP-1 project will also help reduce clinician losses to other states. Need: The Alaska Healthcare Workforce Coalition has annually documented high practitioner shortages and vacancy rates. Their findings corroborate a lengthy list of other Alaska health workforce reports including: Alaska Rural Primary Care Facility Needs Assessment (2000), two Status of Recruitment Resources and Strategies reports (2004, 2006), Alaska Physician Supply Task Force Report (2006), the University of Alaska’s vacancy studies (2
007, 2009 & 2012), the Alaska Healthcare Databook (2007), and the Alaska Primary Care Needs Assessments (2016, and 2021), have documented high shortages, recruitment costs, and time-to-fill positions. Program and Capacity: To date, SHARP has produced 515 practitioner-contracts. This project will add at least another 282 clinician-contracts. SHARP consists of: (1) program management (including clinician and site eligibility); (2) interagency guidance provided by Alaska’s SHARP Council, composed of prominent external partners; (3) loan and lender verification, (4) payment and accounting services consistent with state and federal guidelines, (5) program evaluation, and (6) a sustainability plan. Total proposed budget is $16.8 M. Funding for loan repayment is derived from both federal ($4.0M) and non-federal ($12.8 M) sources, with the later composed of $12.0 from employers and $0.8M from the Alaska Mental Health Trust. Clinicians: Number of clinicians to participate, by type, during the four-year project beginning in FFY 2023 (9/1/22-8/31/26), creating two sequential cohorts, each with two-year clinician contracts: 221 total FTE, comprised of 148 primary care medical; 31oral health; and 42 behavioral health clinicians, with about 70% of those to be rural and remote locations.