Grand Valley State University’s Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program has been awarded a new HRSA grant titled “Addressing Behavioral Health Conditions in Rural Primary Care Through Enhanced Preceptor, Faculty, and Student Training and Experiential Learning.” This initiative aims to grow the pipeline of PAs prepared to deliver high-quality behavioral health care in rural communities.
Building on the success of GVSU’s rural northern Michigan campus—originally funded by HRSA in 2012—the new grant will support enhanced training for PA faculty and rural clinical preceptors, along with expanded student experiential learning. Key program components include:
Preceptors will host two students per year for 12-week rotations that span care across the lifespan and include at least ten behavioral health encounters weekly. Evaluations are completed mid- and end-of-rotation.
This comprehensive effort not only strengthens the rural primary care workforce but also builds long-term partnerships between education and practice sites, expanding access to behavioral health services across Michigan.
For more information or to express interest in precepting, please contact Amanda Reddy at reddya@gvsu.edu.
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) supports more than 20,000 primary care medical, dental, and behavioral health providers through scholarships and loan repayment programs. For more than 50 years, they have increased access to quality health care in communities with significant health professional shortages.
NHSC offers priority funding to applicants who work at NHSC-approved sites in high-need areas, as defined by a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) score. Search for NHSC-approved sites.
The Michigan State Loan Repayment Program (MSLRP) helps employers recruit and retain primary medical, dental, and mental healthcare providers by providing loan repayment to those entering into service obligations.
MSLRP assists employers in the recruitment and retention of medical, dental, and mental healthcare providers who continue to demonstrate their commitment to building long-term primary care practices in underserved communities designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). MSLRP will assist those selected by providing up to $300,000 in tax-free funds to repay their educational debt over a period of up to ten years. New applicants and current participants compete for consecutive two-year MSLRP agreements requiring them to remain employed for a minimum of 40 hours per week for no less than 45 weeks per year at eligible nonprofit practice sites providing primary healthcare services to ambulatory populations.
Providers must have one of the following professional titles to be eligible for loan repayment thorough MSLRP. Both fully licensed and limited-licensed mental healthcare providers listed below are eligible for MSLRP.
The MI Kids Now Loan Repayment Program (MKN LRP) is a medical education debt repayment program focused on incentivizing behavioral health care providers to practice in underserved areas in Michigan. Eligible providers will receive student loan repayment for providing mental health services in eligible nonprofit, outpatient practice sites, or public school-based systems. The program has a two-year service obligation.
MKN LRP will assist those selected by providing up to $300,000 in tax-free funds to repay their educational debt over a period of up to ten years of participation.
The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program is available to Registered Nurses (RN) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) working in a public or private eligible Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) OR Nurse Faculty employed at an eligible school of nursing for two years.
A Critical Shortage Facility is a health care facility located in, designated as, or serving a primary medical care or mental health, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).
HRSA pay up to 85% of unpaid nursing education debt for:
MIDOCs is a state-funded program set up to expand graduate medical education residency positions in select specialties to recruit and retain physicians in underserved areas in the state of Michigan. MIDOCs residencies may feature a variety of enhanced curricular elements in areas such as ambulatory care, quality improvement, population health, interprofessional collaboration, and care of diverse and underserved populations. MIDOCs offers up to $75,000 in loan repayment to residents for the repayment of qualifying educational loans with an agreement to work in a medically underserved area of Michigan for 2 years post-residency.
If you’re employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the PSLF Program. The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you’ve made the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments under an accepted income-based repayment plan, and while working full-time for an eligible employer.
Eligible employers include:
Many individuals can also utilize the PSLF while being part of NHSC LRP or MSLRP.
The Nurse Corps Scholarship Program pays for eligible nursing students’ tuition, fees, and other educational costs. In return, the students must work at a Critical Shortage Facility when they graduate for minimum two years.
Nursing students must be accepted or enrolled in a nursing degree program (full-time) at an accredited school of nursing located in the United States or U.S. territory:
The National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program (NHSC SP) awards scholarships to students pursuing eligible primary care health professions training. In return, scholars commit to provide primary care health services in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for two to four years after residency.
HRSA provides financial support for full-time enrollment in an eligible primary care health professions degree training program for up to four school years:
Eligible students are enrolled as a full-time student (or accepted for enrollment)and are attending—or accepted to attend—an accredited school or program in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia (D.C.), or a U.S. territory: