The Need

Current workforce shortages will worsen as the patient population shifts from insured to uninsured, reducing provider revenue while workload remains high across all healthcare disciplines.

The Solution

Create comprehensive recruitment and retention programs that attract diverse healthcare providers willing to serve the region and population.

What This Could Look Like

• Loan forgiveness up to $200,000 for physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, dental hygienists, behavioral health clinicians, social workers, and other licensed healthcare professionals with five-year commitments to serve the region and minimum percentages of uninsured patients
• Rural training rotations with regional medical, dental, nursing, social work, and allied health programs, converting trainees into permanent hires
• Train and deploy 20-25 community health workers from local residents to provide care coordination and navigation for newly uninsured individuals across medical, dental, behavioral health, and social service needs

Why This Works

Addresses documented crisis (30% nurse vacancies, shortages across all disciplines), creates sustainable workforce pipeline for comprehensive care, and builds local capacity that remains after the grant period.