Government : Recruiting health care professionals to rural Iowa

The Iowa Senate has taken a positive step to help address the workforce crisis that has hit all sectors of our economy. I joined my colleagues to unanimously approve broader incentives to attract more health care professionals to our small towns and rural areas.

Provisions in SF 2383 makes changes to three recruitment programs aimed at one of Iowa's critical workforce shortage fields:

1. Rural Iowa Primary Care Provider Loan Forgiveness Program - This initiative provides loan forgiveness for medical students who agree to serve in rural areas of the state. The bill will:

* Allow physicians working part time in rural Iowa to qualify for student loan forgiveness.

* Expand the program to medical students who've completed their residency outside of Iowa.

* Extend the program to the practice of neurology.

* Allow unspent funds to be used to recruit doctors who've already finished medical school.

2. Health Professional Recruitment Program - The bill makes advanced registered nurse practitioners and registered nurses eligible for this student loan repayment program, which aids those who work for up to four years in rural communities.

3. Health Care Award Program - The bill renames the Health Care Loan Repayment Program as the Health Care Award Program. The bill expands student loan repayment assistance to nurse educators who teach part time as long as they also work part time in the nursing profession. In addition, it allows individuals to qualify for the program's financial incentives even if they don't have student debt.

I hope the House also passes these expanded incentives, which will help ensure Iowans have access to the health care they need close to home.