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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 21, 2024 01:58 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kathy L. Rapp and Rep. Dan Frankel |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Rural Healthcare Grant Program |
| For years, a public health crisis has been worsening within Pennsylvania’s rural communities: a crisis of access to healthcare. For a variety of reasons, hospitals in rural communities across the Commonwealth have been forced to either shut their doors or close specific hospital units that provide essential healthcare, such as maternity units. One way to address both the healthcare practitioner shortage and rural access to healthcare crisis is to provide incentives for licensed nurses and physicians to live and work in rural communities, thereby investing not only in the future of rural healthcare, but also in the communities they serve. Our proposed Rural Healthcare Grant Program would provide financial incentives through the Department of Health to do just that. Under our proposal, hospitals in rural counties or in designated medically underserved areas may apply for grants from the Department of Health to assist with the hiring of healthcare practitioners at their facility. The hospitals may then use this funding to incentivize licensed nurses and physicians to apply for open positions, as the money from the grant will assist in paying off their student loans. To be eligible to receive grant dollars, licensed nurses and physicians will be required to begin practicing at a rural hospital within 6 months of accepting a position, be classified as full-time by working 30 hours or more per week, or 130 hours per month, and work in the hospital for a minimum of three years. This program will be extremely valuable to rural hospitals and young healthcare practitioners. Please join us in cosponsoring this important piece of legislation. |
Introduced as HB2382