Governor Mills Announces $1.6M Grant Program to Expand Medical Provider Training in Rural Maine

Governor Janet Mills introduced at this time that she is offering as much as $1.6 million by means of her Maine Jobs and Restoration Plan to increase alternatives for coaching well being care professionals and medical suppliers in rural communities, additional strengthening Maine’s well being care workforce. 

The initiative gives funding to help the growth or growth of latest medical residency packages in underserved areas for brand spanking new physicians. It additionally will help medical coaching alternatives for college students enrolled in an accredited healthcare career academic or coaching program, together with however not restricted to nursing (RN, LPN, APRN), Licensed Nursing Assistants (CNAs), behavioral well being (LCSW, LADC) professionals, pharmacists, bodily therapists, physicians, doctor assistants, emergency medical providers, (AEMT, Paramedic), and dentistry. The funding incentivizes the growth of medical websites by offering direct funding to pay certified medical supervisors and by offering different helps equivalent to housing for college students whereas they full their medical rotations. The Enlargement of Rural Scientific Preceptorships and Rural Graduate Medical Schooling Program awards grants of as much as $650,000 for proposals to draw and help medical supervisors, referred to as preceptors, in rural practices and as much as $950,000 to help new or expanded graduate medical education schemes. This helps fill an essential hole: Maine ranks among the many lowest states by way of graduate medical schooling alternatives.   

“Guaranteeing that each individual in Maine can entry high-quality well being care, regardless of the place they reside in our state, is essential to their wellbeing and to our financial system as an entire,” mentioned Governor Mills. “By coaching extra well being care professionals in rural elements of our state, this initiative will strengthen our well being care workforce and help households who want well being care near residence.”

“This initiative from the Governor’s Maine Jobs and Restoration Plan will increase coaching for medical doctors and different well being professionals in rural communities, encouraging these aspiring well being care employees to launch rewarding careers in Down East, northern, and western Maine,” mentioned DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. “Supporting the pipeline of medical suppliers in areas the place they’re wanted most strengthens Maine’s well being care workforce for sufferers all through the state.” 

“With the continuing calls for on the well being care system, medical preceptors and residency packages have struggled to help college students and physicians, notably in rural and underserved populations,” mentioned Jennifer Gunderman, Director of the Maine Space Well being Schooling Middle on the College of New England. “At UNE, our medical and different well being professions college students have skilled these challenges firsthand. This funding will bolster tutorial packages, medical websites, the well being care workforce, and in the end, the well being of Mainers by recognizing and supporting medical preceptors and residency packages in probably the most underserved areas of the state.”

“Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impression on Maine’s well being care workforce, the state has lengthy been challenged to recruit and prepare wanted medical workers,” mentioned Jeffrey Barkin, M.D., President of the Maine Medical Affiliation. “Maine has distinctive challenges to soundly meet its various and complicated well being care wants, together with its oldest within the nation inhabitants and huge rural areas. The Governor’s plan goes a good distance towards constructing a sturdy well being care workforce with the suitable medical coaching and expertise as a way to preserve each entry to and high quality of well being take care of all Mainers.” 

“We applaud Governor Mills’ ongoing dedication to discovering progressive methods to deal with the myriad challenges dealing with Maine’s well being care workforce,” mentioned Darcy Shargo, CEO of the Maine Major Care Affiliation. “By investing in rural medical preceptorships and graduate medical education schemes, we shall be higher getting ready our workforce to take care of rural and underserved communities throughout the state—together with inside the many rural areas of Maine that neighborhood well being facilities serve.” 

“Maine hospitals are grateful and supportive of the Governor’s initiative to increase our rural well being care workforce,” mentioned Steven Michaud, President of the Maine Hospital Affiliation. “This program is a essential element of the all-hands-on-deck method required to fixing the shortages of key caregivers.” 

DHHS is accepting purposes for the grant program by means of October 11, 2022 from well being care organizations that host college students and preceptors. The quantity and dimension of awards will depend upon the variety of proposals acquired and out there funds. To view the Request for Purposes and extra info, go to the Maine Division of Procurement Companies web site.  

Recognizing the necessity to handle the workforce challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Mills included $20 million within the Maine Jobs and Restoration Plan to help well being care workforce coaching. This consists of scholarships and pupil mortgage reduction to allow extra individuals to turn into behavioral well being specialists, long run help employees, emergency medical providers workers, and different well being professionals. The Jobs Plan moreover helps advertising and marketing campaigns geared toward selling well being care careers in Maine and Healthcare Coaching for ME, a program to increase the provision of free and low-cost profession coaching to assist well being care employees advance their careers, help workforce coaching wants of well being care employers, and entice new employees to fast-growing fields. 

The Maine Jobs & Restoration Plan is the Governor’s plan, authorized by the Legislature, to speculate practically $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to enhance the lives of Maine individuals and households, assist companies, create good-paying jobs, and construct an financial system poised for future prosperity. It attracts closely on suggestions from the Governor’s Financial Restoration Committee and the State’s 10-12 months Financial Growth Technique, remodeling them into actual motion to enhance the lives of Maine individuals and strengthen the financial system. 

For extra about Maine Jobs & Restoration Plan, go to maine.gov/jobsplan.