(Washington, D.C., Friday, December 3, 2021) – The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) National Health Service Corps (NHSC) helps medical, dental, and behavioral health clinicians pay off their student loan debt in exchange for working in a Health Professional Shortage Area − a defined geographic area with too few providers. The clinicians who receive NHSC awards care for patients in the country that need them the most, particularly during this challenging pandemic.

The Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act allocated $800 million to help award clinicians in return for their service to underserved communities across the nation. The historic level of funding helped make HRSA history by supporting the largest NHSC workforce in the program’s nearly 50 years. Clinicians like Kalisha Beard, a Social Worker in L-A:

SOUNDBITE #1 (:16) The National Health Service Corps helps me professionally and personally. The loan repayment enables me to do what I love: help underserved patients of Los Angeles with their mental and behavioral health needs.

SOUNDBITE #2 (:24) The application cycle for the National Health Service Corps loan repayment programs will be open soon for all clinicians, including mental and behavioral health professionals like me. I encourage all eligible clinicians to apply. The A-R-P Funds have made it possible to award clinicians at sites who may not have received them in the past.

To learn more, visit nhsc.hrsa.gov/loan-repayment [n-h-s-c dot h-r-s-a dot gov slash loan dash repayment]