Lawrence Technological University receives rural healthcare grant
The grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration totals $1.7 million for use over five years.
Lawrence Technological University has received a five-year $1.7 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration. The grant will assist Lawrence Technological University in helping to bolster the availability of quality healthcare in rural portions of lower Michigan.
According to an article on Lawrence Technological University’s website, Charles Regan, who serves as the director of the Physician Assistant program, said of the grant, “This program will allow students to explore rural health practice, and improve access to care in rural areas. Especially in the underserved area of behavioral medicine—mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, substance use disorder—a shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas leads to a lack of services in rural areas, and it becomes a public health issue.”
Funding from the grant will be used to give students who are in their second year of Lawrence Technological University’s Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program the opportunity to work in hospitals and clinics in rural areas in need of increased healthcare provider access. Students will work in rotation at Aspire Rural Health System in Marlette, MyMichigan Health in Midland, and Memorial Hospital System in Owosso.
Students who participate in the rotations will receive a stipend to cover their living expenses and other costs, such as courses, travel, and administrative costs. In the first year of the grant, nine students will be sent to rural healthcare systems, and in the final year of the grant, 21 students will be participating.
The application for the grant funding shared about the program, “Through offering an intentional and strategic variety of opportunities for our students to experience rotations in rural settings, our students will subsequently seek jobs and careers in areas where they have garnered experiences and thereby help to create a greater pipeline of Physician Assistants serving rural, underserved minority populations within the state of Michigan and the country.”
For more information about Lawrence Technological University, visit the school’s website.