The Washington health corps is the state's initiative to encourage health care professionals to work in underserved communities. In exchange for service, the health care professional receives assistance with higher education, in the form of loan repayment or a conditional scholarship. The Washington health corps consists of the health professional loan repayment and scholarship program, the behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship program, the nurse educator loan repayment program, and the forensic pathology loan repayment program.
(1) The health professional loan repayment and scholarship program is established for credentialed health professionals and residents serving in health professional shortage areas.
(2) The behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship program is established for credentialed health professionals serving in underserved behavioral health areas.
(3) The nurse educator loan repayment program is established for nurse educators teaching for approved nursing programs.
(4) The forensic pathology loan repayment program is established for board-certified forensic pathologists providing services for counties in identified shortage areas.
(5) The office is the administrator of the programs under the Washington health corps. In administering the programs, the office shall:
(a)(i) Select credentialed health care professionals and residents to participate in the loan repayment portion and in the scholarship portion of the health professional loan repayment and scholarship program;
(ii) Select credentialed health care participants to participate in the loan repayment portion and in the scholarship portion of the behavioral health loan repayment and scholarship program;
(iii) Select nurse educators to participate in the nurse educator loan repayment program; and
(iv) Select board-certified forensic pathologists to participate in the forensic pathology loan repayment program;
(b) Adopt rules and develop guidelines to administer the programs;
(c) Collect and manage repayments from participants who do not meet their service obligations under this chapter;
(d) Publicize the program, particularly to maximize participation among individuals in shortage and underserved areas and among populations expected to experience the greatest growth in the workforce;
(e) Solicit and accept grants and donations from public and private sources for the programs;
(f) Use a competitive procurement to contract with a fund-raiser to solicit and accept grants and donations from private sources for the programs. The fund-raiser shall be paid on a contingency fee basis on a sliding scale but must not exceed 15 percent of the total amount raised for the programs each year. The fund-raiser shall not be a registered state lobbyist; and
(g) Develop criteria for a contract for service in lieu of the service obligation where appropriate, that may be a combination of service and payment.
