The funds, which were created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, include $253 million to improve and expand the primary care workforce under the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the PPACA. Another $67 million in Health Profession Opportunity Grants will provide low-income individuals with education, training and support services that will help them prepare to enter and advance in careers in the healthcare sector, according to the release.
The $253 million in Prevention and Public Health Fund grants include the following:
- Primary Care Residency Expansion — $167.3 million. The PCRE program will fund accredited primary care residency programs to support new enrollees in residency training programs.
- Expansion of Physician Assistant Training — $30.1 million. The EPAT program will provide student stipends of $22,000 per student per year for two years at 28 primary care physician assistant training programs.
- Advanced Nursing Education Expansion — $31 million. The ANEE program will provide student stipends of $22,000 per student per year for two years at 26 nursing schools to increase enrollment in primary care nurse practitioner and nurse midwife programs.
- Nurse Managed Health Clinics — $14.8 million. The NMHC program will fund 10 grantees for three years to operate advanced-practice-nurse-managed clinics to provide primary care.
- State Health Workforce Development — $5.6 million. The SHWD program will provide funding to 26 states to begin comprehensive healthcare workforce planning or implementation.
- Personal and Home Care Aide State Training — $4.2 million. The PHCAST program is a demonstration project that supports states in developing and evaluating a competency-based uniform curriculum to train qualified personal and home care aide.
The Health Profession Opportunity Grants, administered by the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance, will provide 32 grants to entities in 23 states. These grants will provide low-income individuals with training programs for a variety of healthcare professions, including: home care aides, certified nursing assistants, medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, emergency medical technicians, licensed vocational nurses, registered nurses, dental assistants and health information technicians.
Read the HHS release on the primary care workforce grants.
Read more coverage on the primary care workforce:
– As Population Ages, Geriatric Specialists in Short Supply
– Study Finds Income Gap Between Primary-Care Physicians and Specialists Up to $100K Annually
– MGMA: Over 56 Percent of Primary Care Providers Receive Additional Compensation for On-Call Coverage
