SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Today the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) announced the approval of $1.944 million in grants for 17 Family Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant training programs to help expand health care access to Californians most in need.
HCAI Director Elizabeth Landsberg approved the grants under the Song-Brown Healthcare Workforce Training Act, which provides grant funding to training programs that attract and admit members of underrepresented groups and places graduates in medically underserved areas.
“The need for affordable and equitable health care for all Californians has never been greater,” said Director Landsberg. “We are committed to expanding equitable access to health care for all Californians by ensuring every community has the health workforce they need. These grant awards are just one of the many tools HCAI has, and is developing, to help expand affordable care”
See the entire list of awardees on the HCAI website.
The nearly $2 million in awards will support a total of 162 student training slots, of which 38 percent are for racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession. The funds will be used for 121 training slots for family nurse practitioner programs, and 41 slots for physician assistant programs.
“Growing California’s health workforce and providing wider access to care are top priorities for this administration. Through Governor Newsom’s work, the 2021-2022 State Budget provides more avenues for meeting these goals,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “These grant awards are a critical part of our efforts to provide wider access to care for California’s underserved populations.”
***
HCAI, formerly the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, is the leader in collecting data and disseminating information about California’s healthcare infrastructure. HCAI promotes an equitably distributed health workforce and monitors the construction, renovation and seismic safety of hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. HCAI also provides loan insurance to assist in the capital needs of California’s nonprofit healthcare facilities. Learn more about HCAI at www.hcai.ca.gov, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
###