Navigating Rural Health Resources€¦ · • Highlight state and federal programs relevant to rural Kansas in ... Cycle open now through March 12, 2020 • National Health Service

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August 8, 2018

Navigating Rural Health ResourcesFebruary 11, 2020

Conference Call #: 866-620-7326Access Code: 350-750-3156

To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans

Webinar: Navigating Rural Health Resources

Webinar Purpose: • Highlight state and federal programs relevant to rural Kansas in

hopes to connect our local providers and communities to useful resources and tools.

Agenda/Topics: • NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program (NCLRP) Application

Cycle open now through March 12, 2020

• National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Application Cycle





Program Overview

The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program (NCLRP) serves to alleviate the critical shortage of nurses in the United States and U.S. territories

• consists of over 1,250 active dedicated nursing professionals

• offers financial assistance to repay up to 85% of eligible loans leading to a degree in nursing.

• Professions included are:Registered Nurses (RN), including advanced practice nurses, (e.g., Nurse Practitioners)Nurse Faculty



Basic Eligibility

• Be a U.S. citizen (either U.S. born or naturalized), U.S. National, or Lawful Permanent Resident

• Have one of the following degrees: associates, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, or a diploma in nursing

• Have a current, full, permanent, unencumbered, unrestricted RN license valid in the state in which they are employed

• Have outstanding, qualifying educational nursing education loans



Eligible Employment

Critical Shortage Facilities (CSF): A public or private not-for-profit health care facility located in, designated as, or serving a primary medical care or mental health, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)• Use HPSA Find Tool: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/hpsa-find

Accredited School of Nursing: A not-for-profit or public collegiate, associate degree, or diploma school of nursing in a State where graduates are authorized to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN); or licensed registered nurses who will receive a graduate or equivalent degree or training to become an advanced education nurse

https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/hpsa-find



Eligible FacilitiesAmbulatory Surgical CenterAmerican Indian Health FacilityCertified Community Behavioral Health ClinicCritical Access Hospital (CAH)Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH)End Stage Renal Disease DialysisFederally Qualified Health CenterFree and Charitable ClinicsHome Health AgencyHospice ProgramNative Hawaiian Health CenterNurse Managed Health Clinic/CenterPrivate Non Profit HospitalPublic HospitalResidential Nursing HomeRural Health ClinicState or Local Public Health or Human Services DepartmentUrgent Care Center

Ineligible Facilities

Clinics in prisons and correctional facilities

Private for-profit facilities

Staffing and travel nursing agencies



Award Types

• Initial 2-year Award: Nurse Corps participants receive an award equal to 60%of their total verified outstanding qualifying loan balances incurred while pursuing education in nursing; in return for a 2-year service commitment at a Critical Shortage Facility (CSF)

• Continuation Award: After the completion of the initial 2-years of service, Program participants may receive an additional award equal to 25% of their original total verified qualifying loan balance for a third year of service

• All awards are subject to Federal Taxes



Service Requirements• Registered Nurses (RN) and Advanced Practice Registered

Nurses (APRN) must provide full-time service, defined as working at least 32 hours per week for a minimum of 45 weeks per year, at a Critical ShortageFacility

• Nurse Faculty (NF) must provide full-time service by teaching pre-licensure students, RNs or Advanced Practice Nurses, in an eligible public or private nonprofit school of nursing, at least 9 months out of the year

• No more than 7 weeks (35 workdays) per service year may be spent away from the service site for vacation, illness, maternity/paternity leave, adoption, holidays, and continuing education.



Application Process (open through March 12 at 6:30 PM CST)

First, read the Application and Program Guidance (PDF) for complete details.

Gather required documentation: • Proof of U.S. Citizenship• Transcripts• Curriculum Vitae/Resume• Loan Documentation • Account statements

All applications must be completed and submitted online via the Nurse Corps Application Portal at: https://programportal.hrsa.gov

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nursecorps-lrp-guidance.pdf

https://programportal.hrsa.gov/



All required documents must be submitted via the Nurse Corps Application Portal

Note: NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program highly recommends that all documents are uploaded in PDF format

Applicants may make edits at any time prior to the application deadline, but must resubmit after all edits are complete

Employment Verification• Applicants must identify or update the correct Point of Contact (POC)

to receive the employment verification• Applicant must initiate a request to Nurse Corps LRP to add their site,

if it is not listed as an option in the application• Application cannot be submitted until the verification has been

completed by the POC• Please consider that it may take up to 5 business days or longer to

have your employment verified by your site(s) POC



Application Review

• The Nurse Corps applies funding preferences to determine the sequential order in which qualified applicants will be considered for an award

• A funding preference will be given to applicants with the greatest financial need, defined as the debt to salary ratio of the applicant (e.g., total qualifying educational loans divided by base annual salary)

• Applicants will then be grouped into funding preference tiers starting with the first tier, awards will be made in order of decreasing debt to salary ratio until funds are expended



Application Review

Qualified applicants will be grouped into one of the funding preference tiers based on the factors described in the table below.

All applicants will be informed of their award status no later than September 30,2020.



Additional Resources

NURSE Corps website: https://bhw.hrsa.gov/loans-scholarships/nurse-corps

Customer Care Center: 1-800-221-9393 (TTY:1-877-987-9910) from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET M-F, except federal holidays

Click here to sign up for HRSA program updates via email

Upcoming Technical Assistance Calls:February 13 from 2-3 p.m. ETFebruary 27 from 4-5 p.m. ETCall: 1-888-455-2923 | Passcode: 7642165

HRSA Nurse Corps Webinar Recording from 2/5https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/phmjq2j63fc8/

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/loans-scholarships/nurse-corps

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USHHSHRSA/subscriber/new?topic_id=USHHSHRSA_66

https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/phmjq2j63fc8/




Kansas Primary Care Office: http://www.kdheks.gov/olrh/rural.htmlAshley Wallace – [email protected] (785) 296-5751

HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce Division of Regional OperationsRegion 7 – Kansas City (KS, MO, NE, IA)Jennifer Carver – [email protected]

Nurse Corps Application Portal https://programportal.hrsa.gov

Application and Program Guidancehttps://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nursecorps-lrp-guidance.pdf

http://www.kdheks.gov/olrh/rural.html

mailto:[email protected]


htps://programportal.hrsa.gov/

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/nursecorps-lrp-guidance.pdf



Questions?



Program Overview

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) awards scholarships and loan repayment to primary care providers in eligible disciplines. Strengthening and growing our primary care workforce—through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC)—began in 1972.

• More than 13,000 providers serving 13.7 million patients• KS: Currently 83 participants across 54 practice sites

• In exchange for loan repayment, you serve at least two years of service at an NHSC-approved site in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).

National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) application cycle is not yet open… projected for Spring 2020

https://bhw.hrsa.gov/shortage-designation/hpsas



NHSC loan repayment funds are exempt from federal income and employment taxes.



Basic Eligibility

• A United States citizen (U.S. born or naturalized) or United States national;

• A provider (or be eligible to participate as a provider) in the Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, as appropriate;

• Fully trained and licensed to practice in the NHSC-eligible primary care medical, dental or mental/behavioral health discipline and state in which you are applying to serve; and

• A health professional in an eligible discipline with qualified student loan debt for education that led to your degree.



Eligible Practice Site Types*Site Must Already be NHSC-Approved*• Medicare Certified Rural Health Clinics• State or Local Health Departments• Federally Qualified Health Centers & FQHC Look-a-Likes• American Indian Health Centers • Community Mental Health Centers • School-Based Clinics • Mobile Units/Clinics• Free Clinics• Critical Access Hospitals (CAH)• Community Outpatient Facilities• Private Practices• State & Federal Prisons



Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations identify areas facing a critical shortage of health care professionals.

State and federal agencies use HPSAs to prioritize and direct limited resources to areas with unmet primary, dental, and mental health care needs.

Our office is responsible for the collection of information from health care professionals used in the population to professional ratios.

The process of surveying the health care professionals is accomplished through a contract with Fort Hays State University. All other data used in HPSA scoring is obtained through U.S. census data and other national sources.



• HPSA type must match site’s services and NHSC provider discipline

• Funding priority of NHSC clinicians based on HPSA score

• Higher HPSA score = higher funding priority, scores range 0 to 26

To find your county/site HPSA score:

• HRSA’s HPSA Find tool: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/hpsa-find

To find out if your site is NHSC-approved, or to request a HPSA score or rescore:

• Contact the Office of Primary Care and Rural Health: Ashley Wallace – [email protected]://www.kdheks.gov/olrh/rural.html

https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/hpsa-find





Application Process (2020 cycle dates have not yet been released)

Once the 2020 version is released, read the Application and Program Guidance (PDF) for complete details.

Click here to view 2019 Application and Program Guidance.

Gather required documentation: • Proof of U.S. Citizenship• Transcripts• Curriculum Vitae/Resume• Loan Documentation • Account statements

https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/NHSC/loan-repayment/lrp-application-guidance.pdf



Employment Verification within ApplicationYou must request an Employment Verification (EV). Through the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) Customer Service Portal, HRSA will then notify the designated point(s)-of-contact at the NHSC-approved service site where you work (or plan to work), about your request.

HRSA will notify you once the site(s) point(s) of contact completes it.

The site(s) must complete the electronic EV before you can submit your application. Therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that the site point-of-contact completes the EV.




For complete details, visit the NHSC LRP webpage: https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loan-repayment/nhsc-loan-repayment-program.html

Click here to sign up for HRSA program updates via email

All applications must be completed and submitted online via the NHSC Loan Repayment Application Portal at: https://programportal.hrsa.gov

Customer Care Center: 1-800-221-9393 (TTY:1-877-987-9910) from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET M-F, except federal holidays

https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loan-repayment/nhsc-loan-repayment-program.html

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USHHSHRSA/subscriber/new?topic_id=USHHSHRSA_66

https://programportal.hrsa.gov/




Kansas Primary Care Office: http://www.kdheks.gov/olrh/rural.htmlAshley Wallace – [email protected] (785) 296-5751

HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce Division of Regional OperationsRegion 7 – Kansas City (KS, MO, NE, IA)Jennifer Carver – [email protected]






Questions?



Contact Information

Webpage: www.ksruralhealth.org or www.ksprimarycare.org

Staff contact info:

Amy Swanson, [email protected]

Ashley [email protected]

Caroline [email protected]

http://www.ksruralhealth.org/

http://www.ksprimarycare.org/




Documents

Navigating Rural Health Resources€¦ · • Highlight state and federal programs relevant to rural Kansas in ... Cycle open now through March 12, 2020 • National Health Service