Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program

The purpose of this grant program is to support the development of new accredited primary care residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine-pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, general dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and geriatrics to address the physician workforce shortages and challenges faced by rural and underserved communities. Teaching Health Center primary care residency programs are accredited medical and dental residency training programs that train residents in community-based training sites and focus on producing physicians and dentists who will practice in underserved communities. For example, one residency training model is the 1+2 Rural Training Track (RTT), where the first year of training occurs within a larger community-based facility such as a federally qualified health center (FQHC), and the final two years in a rural health community-based setting. This program aims to support the expansion of primary care residency training in community-based patient care settings by providing funds to support the development of new programs in these settings, which are often located in underserved areas where resources may not easily attainable. As such, THCPD funding may be utilized to support the development of new residency programs only; applications from existing residency programs (i.e. those already training residents) will not be considered. Programs wishing to expand primary care training in their residency program should submit an application for resident full-time equivalent (FTE) support through the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program, announcement HRSA-22-105.

An eligible entity is a community-based ambulatory patient care center that: i. Will operate an accredited primary care residency program. Specific examples of eligible outpatient settings include, but are not limited to: ? Federally qualified health centers, as defined in section 1905(l)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1396d(l)(2)(B)]; ? Community mental health centers, as defined in section 1861(ff)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395x(ff)(3)(B)]; ? Rural health clinics, as defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(2)]; ? Health centers operated by the Indian Health Service, an Indian tribe or tribal organization, or an urban Indian organization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act [25 U.S.C. 1603]); and ? An entity receiving funds under Title X of the PHS Act. The list of entities above is not exhaustive, but does reflect the intent of the program to provide training in community-based settings such as those served by the institutions listed. OR ii. Has collaborated to form a community-based GME consortium that will operate an accredited primary care residency program. In order to satisfy accreditation, academic and administrative responsibilities, a community-based ambulatory patient care center may form a GME consortium with stakeholders (e.g., academic health centers, universities and/or medical schools) where the GME consortium will serve as the institutional sponsor of an accredited primary care residency program. The relationship between the community-based ambulatory patient care center and the consortium must be legally binding, and the agreement establishing the relationship must describe the roles and responsibilities of each entity. Within the consortium, the community-based ambulatory care center is expected to play an integral role in the academic, financial and administrative operations of the residency. THCPD payments must be used to support residency planning and development activities at the ambulatory training site.

LCDR Tonya Twyman

(301)443-6535