WASHINGTON – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Thursday that the number of participants in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has nearly tripled, with more than 10,000 members – doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers – now delivering care to Americans in underserved communities nationwide.
Through funding from the Affordable Care Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and annual appropriations, the NHSC has awarded nearly $900 million in scholarships and loan repayments to healthcare professionals to help expand the country’s primary care workforce and meet the healthcare needs of communities across the country.
Nearly three times as many NHSC clinicians are working in communities across America as compared to three years ago. In 2008, 3,600 NHSC providers served approximately 3.7 million patients. In 2011, the NHSC provides healthcare services to about 10.5 million patients.
“Thanks to the National Health Service Corps, more Americans can see a doctor and get the healthcare they need,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a statement. “The investments we made are improving health and creating access to care, fueling economic activity nationwide.”
The NHSC, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), provides healthcare to communities across the country through the service of more than 41,000 primary healthcare practitioners over its nearly 40-year history. The NHSC provides financial, professional and educational resources to medical, dental and mental and behavioral healthcare providers who bring their skills to areas of the United States with limited access to healthcare.
“Eighty-two percent of NHSC clinicians continue to serve in high-need areas after they fulfill their service commitment,” said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, in a statement. “These awards help ensure that underserved communities across the country have access to quality healthcare both today and in the future.”
