A new scholarship program at LSU Health Shreveport (LSUHS) promises to help address critical shortages in the healthcare workforce in rural areas of Louisiana.
And the needs are great, especially when you consider 44 of the state’s 64 parishes are considered fully or partially rural, with 29% of Louisiana’s population living in rural areas, according to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH).
Now, thanks to a newly awarded Healthcare Employment Reinvestment Opportunity (H.E.R.O.) grant from LDH, up to six students of the LSUHS Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program will receive scholarships covering tuition and mandatory fees.
In exchange, the students will commit to practice for two to three years at one of the six participating rural Louisiana hospitals following graduation.
The initiative will also establish new rural clinical preceptor sites, helping alleviate a growing shortage of primary care training placements for students across many healthcare disciplines.
Health officials say the assistance cannot come some enough for the 73% of Louisiana residents who live in a Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).
Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Academic Administration and Dean of the School of Health Professions & Sciences, described the program as a win-win for students and the rural communities they will eventually serve. “It's a win for our students. Our students who get an opportunity to reduce their loan indebtedness. It's a win for the rural hospitals who are our partners, who get an opportunity to hire an outstanding health care provider.”
Dunn continued, “It's a win for our PA program because we need additional clinical internship sites. Then it's a win for the state of Louisiana because we're reaching our rural health communities with access to outstanding health care.”
Together, the grant awarded to LSU Health Shreveport and hospital partnerships involved represent a total investment of more than $343,000 in workforce development, including $171,921 in H.E.R.O. scholarship funding and nearly $171,800 in matching in-kind support from participating hospitals through clinical instruction, mentorship and student housing.
LSU Health Shreveport is one of two health sciences centers of the Louisiana State University (LSU) System and home to the only academic medical center in a 150-mile radius.
LSU Health Shreveport encompasses the School of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies and School of Health Professions and Sciences, Graduate Medical Education (GME), and research enterprise. For more information, visit www.lsuhs.edu.
