Sunday, December 22, 2024
12/22/2024
Title: Idaho SLRP FY22 Organization name: Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, Bureau of Rural Health & Primary Care Address: 450 W. State St. – 4th Floor, P.O. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0036 Project Director: Alex Prado Phone: (208) 334-0669 Fax: (208) 332-7262 Email: Alex.Prado@dhw.idaho.gov or ruralhealth@dhw.idaho.gov Website: http://ruralhealth.dhw.idaho.gov Funding request: $650,000 per year for 4 years The Bureau of Rural Health & Primary Care (BRH-PC) is a state government organization housed within the Division of Public Health, Idaho Department of Health & Welfare. The BRH-PCincludes 9.5 FTEs funded by a variety of state and federal programs. The mission of the BRH-PC is to “improve access to quality health services in rural and underserved Idaho communities.” We use our mission and program goals as the foundation for planning and decision-making and the State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) is well-aligned with our efforts. Idaho experiences significant workforce challenges and, currently, 100% of the state is federally-designated as a mental health professional shortage area (HPSA), 98.7% is designated in the category of primary care, and 95.7% is designated in dental health. The Primary Care Office, located within the BRH-PC, implements a proactive approach to HPSA designations to assure timely designations and provides significant technical assistance to help assure a robust National Health Service Corps (NHSC) field strength. The SLRP and NHSC program are effective ways to address rural and underserved populations throughout the state of Idaho. The BRH-PC maintains the staffing expertise and skill to effectively align SLRP with existing programs and prevent duplication. We currently have 16 clinicians in contractually-required SLRP service obligations. Our extensive and long-term collaborative relationships with statewide partners will assure effective outreach strategies and continued successful implementation. The attached proposal addresses all required program components and supports our funding request for $650,000, per year, to provide medical education loan repayment. Idaho’s SLRP includes the following goals: Goal 1: Recruit and retain providers to sustain a growing primary health care workforce working in HPSA within Idaho. Goal 2: Encourage state level partnership/cooperation with other stakeholders to address/meet Idaho’s health care workforce needs. Goal 3: Increase access to primary care services in underserved communities/populations. Goal 4: Decrease health care disparities in underserved communities. Goal 5: Improve overall health care outcomes in underserved communities. This SLRP proposal will address Idaho’s needs and lack of other loan repayment resources by providing medical education loan repayment for a variety of disciplines providing care in federally-designated HPSAs. Program awards will be prioritized based on the high need for primary care physicians, registered nurses, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals (including those with substance abuse training), serving Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), state mental health institutions, and other qualifying facilities in rural communities.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).