Secretary Sebelius Releases $1.2 Million in Recovery Funds to Support Health Professions Faculty from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced awards totaling nearly $1.2 million to help health professions faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds repay their student loans. The funds are part of $500 million appropriated to HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) to address workforce shortages and encourage greater diversity in the health professions.

“These funds will help place faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds in critical teaching positions in colleges and universities where they can serve as mentors and role models for students,” said Secretary Sebelius.

“By helping faculty repay their loans, we make it possible to keep them in the classroom where they can make a tremendous difference for the next generation of health professionals,” said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N.

The awards are made through HRSA’s Faculty Loan Repayment Program, which is a loan repayment program specifically for health professions graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds who agree to serve as faculty at an eligible health professions college or university for a minimum of two years. The program provides up to $40,000 and covers tax liability in return for a two-year service commitment.

To participate in this program, faculty members must serve at an accredited health professions college or university and have a degree in one of the following health professions: allopathic or osteopathic medicine; dentistry; optometry; pharmacy; podiatric medicine; veterinary medicine; nursing (RN only); public health; certain allied health disciplines (dental hygiene, medical laboratory technology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, radiologic pathology, speech pathology, audiology, and registered dietitians); and certain graduate programs in the behavioral and mental health disciplines (clinical psychology, clinical social work, professional counseling, and marriage and family therapy).

Dr. Raymond Strong, an FLRP grant recipient, is a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Xavier University’s College of Pharmacy in New Orleans. Formerly director of hospital pharmacies throughout the area, Dr. Strong took a substantial cut in pay to teach while facing the debt burden of student loans and costs to rebuild his home, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Dr. Strong says: “The FLRP program came at just the right time to help me do what I love and feel called to do – educate young minds. FLRP relief will also let me put my home and my entire life back together without a huge financial burden hanging over my head.”

Elizabeth LeQuieu, FLRP grant recipient and occupational therapist (OT), is an academic fieldwork coordinator and clinical instructor at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. "FLRP has given me the opportunity to educate, do research, serve the community and promote service among my students. OTs strive to help people through health promotion, prevention and rehabilitation,” said LeQuieu. “I hope the research I've done while a FLRP participant -- on the impact of obesity on quality of life, for example -- will help further this professional goal."

The $500 million in Recovery Act funding that HRSA received to bolster and expand the health professions workforce includes:

• $200 million targeting a variety of health professions training programs that will strengthen the health care workforce through some key programs, including FLRP. This investment is divided among training program grants, loans, loan repayments, and scholarships, with $1.2 million going to the FLRP program to provide loan repayment for health professions faculty who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• $300 million to support student loan repayments for primary care medical, dental and mental health clinicians who serve for at least two years at National Health Service Corps (NHSC) sites. In exchange for the loan repayments, clinicians serve for two years with the NHSC. These funds are expected to double the number of NHSC clinicians and will enable HRSA to make 3,300 awards to clinicians who serve in health centers, rural health clinics and other health care facilities that care for uninsured and underserved people. On June 5, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of nearly $200 million. The remaining $100 million in support for the NHSC will be announced at a later date.

In addition, HRSA received $2 billion through the Recovery Act to expand health care services to low-income and uninsured individuals through its health center program. To date, more than $1.3 billion of these funds have been awarded to community-based organizations across the country. HRSA-supported health centers treated 17 million patients in 2008, 40 percent of whom have no health insurance.

A table of the awards announced today appears below.

Faculty Loan Repayment Program Awardees

School	City	State	Discipline	Amount
Univ. of Central Arkansas	Conway	Ark.	Occupational Health	$29,389.48
Alliant International Univ.	Fresno	Calif.	Psychologist	$59,853.40
California State University	Fullerton	Calif.	Nurse	$59,853.40
Howard University	Washington	D.C.	Nurse	$59,853.40
Morehouse School of Med	Atlanta	Ga.	Physician	$59,853.40
Spaulding University	Louisville	Ky.	Psychologist	$59,853.40
Xavier Univ. of Louisiana	New Orleans	La.	Pharmacist	$59,853.40
Xavier Univ. of Louisiana	New Orleans	La.	Pharmacist	$59,853.40
Louisiana State University	New Orleans	La.	Nurse	$18,539.95
Montana State University	Bozeman	Mont.	Nurse	$59,853.40
Eastwick College	Hackensack	N.J.	Nurse	$59,853.40
Univ. of North Carolina	Charlotte	N.C.	Public Health	$59,655.88
Univ. of Central Oklahoma	Edmond	Okla.	Nurse	$59,853.40
Univ. of Central Oklahoma	Edmond	Okla.	Nurse	$25,913.69
Temple University	Philadelphia	Pa.	Podiatrist	$59,853.40
East Tennessee State Univ.	Johnson City	Tenn.	Nurse	$59,853.40
Meharry Medical College	Nashville	Tenn.	Physician	$59,853.40
Meharry Medical College	Nashville	Tenn.	Dentist	$59,853.40
Texas Southern University	Houston	Texas	Public Health	$59,853.40
University of Memphis	Memphis	Texas	Psychologist	$25,892.31
Westminster College	Salt Lake City	Utah	Nurse	$59,095.92
Casper College	Casper	Wyo.	Nurse	$59,853.40
			*Total: $1,176,141.63

*Total includes award amount, Federal Income Tax, Employer FICA, and Employee FICA.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.