FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE		Media Contact: Chuck Reyman
April 16, 2010		Office: (303) 953-3684 Mobile: (720) 235-7493

 
Colorado Health Foundation program brings doctors to underserved areas

15 physicians benefit from grant to serve rural and urban Colorado communities

DENVER—With many rural and urban communities in the state facing a critical shortage of primary care physicians, the Physician Loan Repayment Program (or PLRP), sponsored by the Colorado Health Foundation will give  15 doctors money to repay their student loans in exchange for practicing in underserved areas where their services are desperately needed.

Since the PLRP launched in 2008, the Foundation has awarded 47 grants to physicians and clinics for repayment, totaling $5.4 million in funds. The awards go to doctors who agree to practice in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), rural health clinics or safety-net facilities in rural or underserved urban communities throughout Colorado. Doctors who participate in the program can receive as much as $150,000 in three years to defray their student loan debts. By picking up the tab for student loans, the PLRP gives doctors a financial incentive to offset the challenges of practicing in an underserved community. The Foundation is working with the Colorado Rural Health Center and the Colorado Community Health Network on the program.

Along with helping physicians, the grant money benefits clinics that serve uninsured and underinsured patients. Typically, it is difficult to recruit and retain new physicians in underserved areas because of perceived professional isolation, a lack of amenities, higher poverty rates and the challenges that come with providing rural and underserved care. The communities that need physicians most have the fewest resources to recruit them – a dynamic that can compromise the overall health of the community and quality of life. By bringing doctors to underserved areas, it’s anticipated that many of the grant recipients will find job satisfaction and remain in the community after their three-year commitment expires. 

While there are fewer physicians working in underserved areas, patients seen at Colorado’s FQHCs have increased by more than 55 percent since 1998. Currently, 57 of Colorado’s 64 counties are designated as Primary Health Professional Shortage Areas. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reports that Colorado currently needs 181 full-time primary care physicians to meet the needs of underserved areas.

Programs like the PLRP provide relief in parts of the state that experience physician shortages, said Steve Holloway, director of the Primary Care Office of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

"Nearly a quarter of Coloradans live in a community with a critical shortage of primary care physicians,” Holloway said. “Primary health care services access is strongly correlated with reduced health care spending and improved health status in communities. Physician-loan repayment [programs] have been demonstrated to be a cost-effective means of increasing the supply of primary care physicians in communities that have an acute shortage of providers."

Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment estimates the demand for family and general practitioners will increase by 28 percent by 2014. The increase in demand for physicians is fueled by an aging baby boomer generation, changing work expectations of physicians and a growing number of individuals relying on safety-net clinics for their health care.

 View a complete list of the PLRP grant recipients. 

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About the Colorado Health Foundation
The Colorado Health Foundation works to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation by increasing the number of Coloradans with health insurance, ensuring they have access to quality, coordinated care and encouraging healthy living. The Foundation invests in the community through grants and initiatives to health-related nonprofits that focus on these goals, as well as operating medical education programs to increase the health care workforce. The Foundation's assets of more than $900 million include an investment portfolio as well as an ownership interest in Denver’s HealthONE hospital system. For more information, please visit www.ColoradoHealth.org.