Tricia Franklin, Office of Healthcare Access manager and state coordinator for the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program at the Alaska Department of Health, said the Strengthening Healthcare Access Recruitment Program is helping the state address healthcare workforce challenges.
“That is providing state loan repayment programs. Our newer initiative is employer-based payments to help healthcare providers pay off loans. Those are usually targeted to some of our higher-level healthcare providers, but I think we want to incentivize those lower-level providers too, and make sure we’re hitting all areas of access.”