Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program Now Accepting Applications for Assistance From Health Care Providers
HAZARD, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2021) — The Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program (KSLRP) is now accepting applications from health care providers looking for help in paying off their student loan debt.
The Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH) serves as the administrator for KSLRP, which is funded through the National Health Service Corps, a federal program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The loan repayment assistance program offers financial support to working health care professionals as a way to help recruit them and retain them in the Commonwealth’s rural and underserved communities. Applicants selected to participate in the competitive program agree to work full time for two years providing primary care services at an eligible practice site located in one of Kentucky’s health professional shortage areas. KSLRP participants receive tax-free student loan repayment awards in exchange for their service commitment.
Awards range from $10,000 to $40,000 a year, depending on applicants’ disciplines and specialties, level of loan indebtedness and sponsor commitment level.
The current application window runs for one month from Sept. 1 to Oct. 1. The deadline to submit completed application materials is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1.
Eligible KSLRP applicants include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, registered nurses, dentists, registered dental hygienists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional clinical counselors, health service psychologists, marriage and family therapists, psychiatric nurse specialists, alcohol and substance abuse counselors and pharmacists.
Service commitments are commonly completed at federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, community mental health facilities, state and county health department clinics, free clinics, critical access hospitals affiliated with a qualified outpatient clinic, correctional or detention facilities, and private practices. Practice sites must be public or nonprofit private entities.
KSLRP is a 50/50 match program: For every federal dollar provided by KSLRP, participants must have a 1:1 match from a sponsor source. Sponsors can include employers at their service site; private foundations, corporations, community organizations and/or philanthropies; and, rurally-oriented organizations requesting that their funds be used to support the placement of practitioners in rural areas.
New program participants must begin their service commitment in January 2022.
The program also allows past participants to apply for one-year extension contracts.
Program guidelines and all application materials can be found online at www.kyruralhealth.org/KSLRP.
For more information, please contact Lisa Garza (lisa.garza@uky.edu; 606-439-3557, Ext. 83490).
The Kentucky Office of Rural Health (KORH), established in 1991, is a federal-state partnership authorized by federal legislation. The UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health, located in Hazard, serves as the federally-designated Kentucky Office of Rural Health. KORH works directly with clinicians, clinic and hospital administrators, policymakers and other stakeholders to improve the accessibility of health care services for the Commonwealth’s rural and underserved residents. The office connects communities and health care organizations to local, state and federal resources while working toward long-term solutions to financial, quality improvement and workforce challenges.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
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