Important Facts for UDOH Support for Health Professional Education (Grants Program)

Definition

Number of awards and total funds awarded for health professional educational loan repayment program. The name of the program is the Utah Health Care Workforce Financial Assistance Program.

Numerator

Number of awards and total funds awarded for health care workforce Financial Assistance Program.

Denominator

Not applicable.

Why Is This Important?

The Division of Family Health and Preparedness, Office of Primary Care and Rural Health, supports the Utah Health Care Work Force Financial Assistance Program (26-46, UCA). The program is funded with one time state general funds and matching federal funds. The Utah Health Care Workforce Financial Assistance Program (HCWFAP) was created to provide professional education scholarships and loan repayment assistance to health care professionals who locate or continue to practice in underserved areas of Utah. The purpose of the HCWFAP is to increase and maintain the number of health care professionals practicing in rural and underserved areas.

Healthy People Objective AHS-4:

(Developmental) Increase the number of practicing primary care providers
U.S. target: Not applicable

Other Objectives

The HCWFAP directly impacts the Utah Department of Health strategic priority of having the healthiest people by recruiting primary care providers to rural and urban underserved communities. By supporting the primary care infrastructure in rural Utah, the HCWFAP indirectly supports the goals of healthy behaviors and safe communities. The HCWFAP also supports the Utah Department of Health in its efforts to comply with the Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) vision of a society in which all people live long, healthy lives. It embraces the four overarching goals of HP2020: to attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death; achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups; create social and physical environments that promote good health for all; and promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages.

How Are We Doing?

Since 1990, health professionals recruited to work in medically underserved areas of Utah cover 28 of the 29 counties, and include 24 dentists, 55 mental health therapists, 212 nurses, 98 physicians, and 41 physician assistants.