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> Health Information
> Recruitment Programs
Recruitment Programs
Background
The Montana AHEC and Montana ORH (MORH) have specific goals and objectives on recruitment and retention of health care providers. It is recognized that recruitment of the health care workforce is an evolutionary process which includes providing information about health careers to students in middle school and high school, providing access to health professions education and training during post-secondary schooling, encouraging health professions students to learn about how quality health care is provided in urban, rural, frontier and other settings, delivering continuing health professions education to practicing clinicians and providing recruitment and retention information and services to health care providers and health care facilities.
Recruitment Committee
The Recruitment Committee (a sub-committee of the Montana Healthcare Workforce Advisory Committee) is a state-wide network of healthcare-related organizations that are working to address healthcare workforce needs in Big Sky Country. The committee aims to attract and retain healthcare professionals to Montana’s rural, frontier, and underserved areas. Organizations composing the Montana Healthcare Recruitment Collaborative include the Montana Primary Care Office, Montana Primary Care Association, Indian Health Services, Montana Hospital Association, regional Health Resource Serviec Administration representation and Montana AHEC offices. The 3RNet (see description below) is integral in the recruitment process for this group.
National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network
The National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network (3RNet) is made up of state organizations that assist health professionals in locating practices in rural areas throughout the country. Each 3RNet state member has his/her own website page which:
- lists opportunities for practice locations,
- allows personal registration on the 3RNet,
- provides opportunities to explore job listings in other states,
- provides advise on the recruitment process; and
- locates other rural health resources
The Montana AHEC and MORH provide technical support to health facilities to assist with the identification, recruitment, and retention of physicians and other health care providers. In addition, physicians and other health care providers can obtain help with locating practice opportunities in Montana. The primary recruitment resource used by the Montana AHEC, MORH, and the Recruitment Collaborative is the 3RNet.
MHA…An Association of Health Care Providers (formerly the Montana Hospital Association)
MHA is a respected health care leader in Montana. MTHealthJobs.com is an innovative recruitment program within MHA that is committed to attracting a high-quality workforce to Montana's health care facilities. Those utilizing MTHealthJobs.com will benefit from MHA’s long-time, direct and close relationship with health care facilities from across Montana. Additionally, there are no associated costs for job-seekers!
Rural Health Career Center
The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) administers the Rural Health Career Center. This center can be used by health care providers to look for jobs and by health care facilities to post position vacancies. These announcements are searchable by location, job title, and/or industry. The NRHA Rural Health Career Center website is http://careers.NRHArural.org.
Montana Rural Physician Incentive Program
The Montana Rural Physician Incentive Program (MRPIP) was established to encourage primary care physicians to practice in medically underserved areas of rural Montana. This program assists in the recruitment of physicians by providing repayment of the educational debts of physicians who agree to practice in areas of the state that are medically underserved or serving underserved populations and demonstrate the need for assistance in physician recruitment. These areas may be designated as Health Professions Shortage Areas (HPSAs), Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and/or Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs).
The Montana Rural Physician Incentive Program is described in MCA 20-26-1501 – 1503 and 15-30-188 - 191. This law established a state special revenue account that is used to pay for:
(a) the educational debts of physicians who practice in rural areas or medically underserved areas or for medically underserved populations of the state that demonstrate a need for assistance in physician recruitment; and
(b) the expenses of administering the incentive program (not to exceed 10% of the total annual fees).
This MRPIP program was most recently amended in 2007, when the debt repayment ceiling was raised up to $45,000 over 5 years to $100,000 over 5 years in July, 2009. Also, during the 2007 legislature, the tax credit for rural physicians was repealed, essentially replacing the little used tax credit incentive option with the more popular loan repayment incentive option.
The Montana Rural Physician Incentive Program is administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and is funded through fees assessed to all medical students participating in the WWAMI Program and WICHE Program. The Director of the Montana AHEC/ORH serves on the Advisory Committee for the incentive program.
Recruitment and Retention Resources
For information about professional licensing in Montana click here.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
Contacts
Lisa Benzel, Director
lisa@mtha.org
406-683-2790
Bergen Morehouse, Coordinator
bergen@mtha.org
406-683-2790
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