“A bill to establish a grant program to support schools of medicine and schools of osteopathic medicine in underserved areas.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a grant program under the Public Health Service Act for institutions of higher education (including consortia) to establish, improve, or expand schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine, or branch campuses thereof, with priority to applicants proposing such activities in medically underserved communities or health professional shortage areas lacking existing schools (or minority-serving schools, if applicable) and to minority-serving institutions. Grantees must use funds to recruit, enroll, and retain medical students from disadvantaged backgrounds (including underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, rural/underserved areas, low-income individuals, and first-generation college students) and to develop curriculum emphasizing care for rural and underserved populations; permissible uses include planning and constructing facilities (with specified conditions), achieving accreditation, hiring underrepresented faculty and staff, supporting educational programs, modernizing infrastructure, and other related activities. The Secretary must ensure equitable geographic distribution of awards and require annual grantee reports and biennial reports to Congress (every five years beginning five years after enactment) summarizing awardees, student enrollment and outcomes (disaggregated by demographics), and residency participation.