GOT LOANS??? $4 million available for loan repayment

The California State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) has approximately $4 million to award in 2011 for loan repayment of outstanding government and commercial loans for expenses incurred during undergraduate or graduate education! Up to $100,000 in funding available for primary healthcare providers who commit to a three-year service obligation at a public or private non-profit medical facility that is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area. Each facility is required to pay a matching grant, meaning that up to $50,000 is paid by the State, and up to $50,000 is paid by the facility.

In order to participate, you must be providing full-time direct patient care in a medical facility. Full-time, except for Ob/Gyn, is defined as 40 hours per week. Qualifying licensed, non-residency, primary care health professionals in following disciplines only may apply:
· Allopathic or Osteopathic Physicians specializing in Family Medicine, General Pediatrics, General Internal Medicine, General Psychiatry, Gerontology, or Obstetrics and Gynecology
· Primary Care Nurse Practitioners
· Primary Care Physician Assistants
· Certified Nurse Mid-Wives
· Dentists
· Dental Hygienists
· Licensed Mental or Behavioral Health Professionals: Clinical or Counseling Psychologists, Clinical Social Workers, Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, or Psychiatric Nurse Specialists
A facility must meet the following criteria in order to qualify for the SLRP:

• Be either publicly-funded or a private non-profit
• Be located in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area
• Facility Health Professional Shortage Area
• Be willing to match the state award
• Commit to a minimum of two years of employment for each provider
• Pay prevailing wages
• Direct patient care performed in an outpatient setting
• Enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of California
• Be listed on or apply to be listed on the California SLRP Certified Eligible Site list

In order to get your facility on the Certified Eligible Site list, your facility will need to submit a Certified Eligible Site application every four years in order to participate in the SLRP. Each clinic must submit a separate application if they would like to employ SLRP providers, even if the clinic is part of a larger parent organization with an automatic designation. A list of the current eligible sites may also be found on the SLRP website and is sorted in three categories: primary care, mental and dental.

If your site is not on this list, it may still qualify if it is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). Please use the following steps to determine if your facility is located in a HPSA:
1) Find the census tract number. Visit http://www.ffiec.gov/Geocode/default.aspx and type in the street address and state and hit search. Write down the number in the "Tract Code" box; this is your census tract (CT) number.
2) Visit http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov/ to see if your census tract is listed on the HPSA Web site. Using the "Advanced Search..." in the right hand corner, select appropriate information for your State, County, and Discipline. Under Status, choose "Designated." When all information is entered, hit "Show me the HPSAs" and search for your CT or MSSA.


3) If you do not see if your site’s census tract number listed, also check to see if the site itself is listed as a HPSA.
The application cycle opened on January 7, 2011 and will be open continuously until funds are expended. Contracts will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please note that you can only commit to one service obligation at a time and must complete any existing service obligations prior to accepting a new contract for this program. You may find additional program information at: http://www.oshpd.ca.gov/HWDD/SLRP.html . Please review the website and online application.