Health Planning and Systems Development

Health Care Workforce Planning & Development Activities

The Health Planning and Systems Development Section (HPSD) is responsible for a variety of workforce development activities. HPSD staff manages workforce programs, provides technical assistance to sites, and supports statewide workforce development training. The Section conducts research and ongoing data collection related to health care workforce. Community needs, agency concerns, and available resources guide the Section’s involvement in workforce planning and development.

Our workforce activities are carried out under programs in our Section such as the Alaska State Office of Rural Health, the Primary Care Office, the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Community Health Aide Training and Supervision Grant Program, the Comprehensive Integrated Mental Health Plan, and Oral Health Workforce Program.

HPSD’s Key Health Care Workforce Responsibilities:

Workforce Programs:

  • National Health Service Corps (NHSC) — HPSD is the key point of contact for the NHSC and is responsible for a number of NHSC activities. NHSC is a federally funded Health Resources and Services Administration program assisting communities and health care professionals to provide quality health care. HPSD staff work to recruit qualified sites and providers to participate in the NHSC program. HPSD staff help identify health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) used to direct NHSC placements. Staff work to assure that sites that apply for participation meet the qualifications of the NHSC and that providers are aware of this resource. NHSC scholars are new physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, and other health professionals who received scholarships through the program in exchange for a placement in an underserved community. Separately, the NHSC loan repayment program forgives student loans in exchange for work in an underserved location.
  • Alaska State Loan Repayment Program (ASLRP) - HPSD has received federal funding to establish a new State Loan Repayment Program for Alaska (ASLRP) to increase retention and recruitment of selected health care practitioners for our state and improve access to care for underserved and vulnerable populations. The eligible health care practitioners include primary care (physicians and midlevel providers), dentists, hygienists and behavioral health care providers, working full-time in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for a minimum of two years. The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and several community health centers have committed the required 50% match for the program.
  • Community Health Aide Training and Supervision (CHATS) Grant Program - HPSD manages the state-funded Community Health Aide Training & Supervision Program.  The CHATS Program provides state-funded grants to sixteen tribal organizations. HPSD works with the Community Health Aide Program directors and the ANTHC CHA Program staff.
  • Community Health Aide Certification Board – A HPSD staff member is DHSS’s representative on the CHAP Certification Board.
  • J-1 Waivers — HPSD works with sites and providers on non-U.S. citizens working in high need areas where recruitment does not meet demands. Alaska DHSS guidelines regarding J-1 Visa Waivers are available online.
  • 3RNet — HPSD is Alaska’s lead contact with the 3RNet  (Rural Recruitment and Retention Network), a web site which provides a national resource for recruiting applicants for Alaska medical and health care professional vacancies. Alaska sites can describe their locations and list their vacancies free of charge. 3Rnet also provides updated research regarding recruitment and retention issues.  (www.3RNet.org)
  • Recruitment networking — HPSD works collaboratively with agency directors, human resource staff and recruiters in the State.

Workforce Training /Technical Assistance:

  • Individual technical assistance — HPSD provides technical assistance to primary care and behavioral health sites, private providers, and other health care organizations on health care workforce issues.
  • Rural Hospitals -– The Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program supports workforce development and collaborative relationships between critical access hospitals and emergency medical services. We fund a hospital to hospital CEO/CFO mentoring program and an internship program for master’s students interested in rural hospital management.
  • Preceptor/Cultural Awareness Trainings — HPSD provides community trainings for health care site student preceptors, including training and resources for student interns and sites related to cultural awareness.
  • Workforce Development Training and Conferences – HPSD shares tools, best practices and current research findings at conferences and health summits within the State and Northwest region, such as the annual Alaska Health Summit and NW Regional Critical Access Hospital and Rural Health Conferences.

Workforce Research:

  • Provider Survey/Vacancy Research - HPSD staff track placement, vacancy rates, and turnover of health care professionals. 2009 projects include Dental Workforce in Alaska planning grant from HRSA, and Alaska Primary Care Office analyses of retention patterns for the health care professions. A summary of other states’ loan repayment programs (2008) is included in a briefing paper online.
  • Funding for Workforce Research — HPSD locates funding sources and possible partnerships for workforce development in and for rural Alaska.
  • Workforce Development Strategies – HPSD staff research and develop issue briefs on workforce development strategies such as loan repayment and recruitment strategies
  • Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) — HPSD prepares and submits HPSA applications for sites to HRSA. HPSAs are federal designations that may apply to a geographic area or population which allows programs to take advantage of certain workforce, such as applying for NHSC participation, and multiple other federally-supported programs
  • Medically Underserved Area/Medically Underserved Population Designations - HPSD prepares and submits MUAMUP applications to HRSA on behalf of sites. MUA/MUPs are federal designations that may allow an organization to apply for community health center funding.

Workforce Reports:

Collaboration with other Organizations Concerned about Health Care Workforce:

The Health Planning and Systems Development Section works with numerous organizations to assess and address health care workforce issues. Some of the key organizations include:

For more information, please contact:

Health Planning & Systems Development Section
 Dept. of Health and Social Services, Division of Health Care Services
Pat Carr, Section Chief  
patricia.carr@alaska.gov  (907) 465-8618