Rural Health
Funding by Sponsor: Bureau of Health Workforce

National Health Service Corps Students to Service Loan Repayment Program
Loan repayment assistance for medical, nursing, physician assistant, and dental students who agree to provide services in eligible Health Professional Shortage Areas of greatest need.

Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP)
Funding for accredited schools of nursing to establish and/or operate a student loan fund. Grantees will loan money to students, and up to 85% of each loan may be forgiven upon completion of up to 4 years of full-time employment as a faculty member in an accredited school of nursing.

Rural Residency Planning and Development Program
Grants to develop newly accredited, sustainable rural residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, public health, general preventive medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology. The overall goal of the program is to support expansion of the physician workforce in rural communities.

Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program
Grants to educate and train the primary care and geriatrics workforces to provide age-friendly and dementia-friendly care in integrated geriatrics and primary care sites/delivery systems and maximize patient and family engagement to address care gaps and improve health outcomes for older adults. Proposals that benefit older adults in rural, tribal, or other underserved communities/populations are a priority.

Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Training and Mentoring
Training to provide medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for clinicians in high-need communities. Clinicians who complete the training may be priority applicants for some NHSC loan repayment programs, and qualified disciplines can become eligible for the Loan Repayment Program Continuation Contract MOUD Award Enhancement.

Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program Inactive
Loan repayment for eligible clinicians who provide pediatric medical subspecialty, pediatric surgical specialty, or child and adolescent behavioral healthcare including substance use disorder prevention and treatment services. In exchange for loan repayment, participants agree to 3 years of full-time service at an approved site including American Indian health facilities, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, schools, and public health departments, among others.

Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training- Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults (BHWET-CAY) Program for Professionals Inactive
Grants to increase the supply and distribution of behavioral health professionals providing services for children, adolescents, and young adults (CAY), and thereby increase access to behavioral health providers and services in rural and underserved communities.

Maternity Care Nursing Workforce Expansion (MatCare) Program Inactive
Grants to provide support to accredited nurse midwifery programs to train nurse midwives through trainee scholarships, stipends, curriculum enhancement, and community-based training. The program is designed to grow and diversify the maternal and perinatal health nursing workforce that are prepared to address and reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in rural, tribal, and underserved urban communities.

Medical Student Education Program Inactive
Grants for public medical schools to expand or support education for medical students preparing to become physicians in states with primary care provider shortages. The program is designed to prepare and encourage medical students who are training in the most underserved states to choose residencies and careers in primary care that serve tribal communities, rural communities, and/or medically underserved communities after they graduate.

Faculty Loan Repayment Program Inactive
Loan repayment for individuals from economically and environmentally disadvantaged backgrounds who agree to serve as faculty at eligible health professions schools for a minimum of 2 years.