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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

93.886:  Physician Assistant Training in Primary Care

Popular Name:  Physician Assistant Training Program

Objectives:  Grants are awarded for projects for the training of physician assistants, and for the training of individuals who will teach in programs to provide such training. The program assists schools to meet the costs of projects to plan, develop and operate or maintain such programs.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

93.886 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  Accredited schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine or other public or private nonprofit entities are eligible to apply. Eligible physician assistant programs are those which are either accredited by the American Medical Association's Committee on Allied Health Education and Accredited (AMA-CAHEA) or its successor organization, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

Beneficiary Eligibility:  State and local government entities, nonprofit private health institutions, and nonprofit private educational institutions.

Credentials/Documentation:  Program must be accredited by the American Medical Association or have received a letter of review from the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant. Program must also meet definition of an educational program for Physician Assistants, as defined in Section 750 of Title VII, of the PHS Act. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments. For other grantees, costs will be determined in accordance with DHHS Regulations 45 CFR, Part 74, Subpart Q.

93.886 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  Not applicable. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:  The new URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) Grants Page is "www.hrsa.gov/bhpr/grants.html". This year BHPr has decided to use Adobe Acrobat to publish the grant documents on the Web page. In order to download, view and print these grant documents, you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This can be obtained without charge from the Internet by going to the Adobe Web page ("www.adobe.com") and downloading the version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is appropriate for your operating system, i.e., Windows, Unix, Macintosh, etc. A set of more detailed instructions on how to download and use the Adobe Acrobat Reader can be found on the BHPr Grants Web page under "Notes on this WWW Page." Applications for an award under this section must include the following information regarding the programs of the applicant: (1) A description of rotations or preceptorships for students, or clinical training programs for residents, that have the principal focus of providing health care to medically undeserved communities. (2) The number of faculty on admissions committees who have a clinical practice in community-based ambulatory settings in medically undeserved communities. (3) With respect to individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds or from medically undeserved communities, the number of such individuals who are recruited for academic programs of the applicant, the number of such individuals who are admitted to such programs, and the number of such individuals who graduate from such programs. (4) If applicable, the number of recent graduates who have chosen careers in primary health care. (5) The number of recent graduates whose practices are serving medically undeserved communities. (6) A description of whether and to what extent the applicant is able to operate without Federal assistance under this title.

Award Procedure:  Notification in writing. A Notice of Grant Award will be issued from Headquarters Office.

Deadlines:  Application deadlines are available on the World Wide Web at www.hrsa.gov/bhpr/grants.html.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  From 4 to 6 months.

Appeals:  Appeal available only to grantees.

Renewals:  Progress reports must be submitted each year beginning with the second year of support. Competitive continuations may be submitted during the terminal year of support. Competitive continuations must follow instructions.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Competing applications are reviewed by nonfederal consultants. Approval of any application will be based on an analysis of the following factors: (1) The degree to which the project plan adequately provides for meeting program and project requirements; (2) the potential effectiveness of the project to carry out the purposes of Section 750 of the PHS Act; (3) the capability of the applicant to carry out the proposed project; (4) the local, regional, and national needs the project proposes to serve; (5) the adequacy of the project's plan for placing graduates in health professions shortage areas; (6) the soundness of the fiscal plan for assuring effective utilization of grant funds; (7) the potential of the project to continue on a self-sustaining basis after the period of grant support; and (8) the adequacy of the project's plan to develop and use methods designed to attract and maintain minority and disadvantaged students to train as physician assistants. In making awards of grants under this section, preference will be given to any qualified applicant that — (A) has a high rate for placing graduates in practice settings having the principal focus of serving residents of medically undeserved communities; or (B) during the 2-year period preceding the fiscal year for which such an award is sought, has achieved a significant increase in the rate of placing graduates in such settings. Preference will be given only for applications ranked above the 20th percentile of applications that have been recommended for approval by the appropriate peer review group. Preference will also be given to any qualified applicant with a significant track record of graduate placement in a general specialty (family medicine, general internal medicine and generalists pediatrics).

Examples of Funded Projects:  Projects to train physician assistants and components of projects to prepare faculty to teach in such programs.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  From $52,229 to $299,199; $141,308.

93.886 RELATED PROGRAMS:

93.886 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

93.886 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Type of Assistance:  Project Grants.

Obligations:  FY 99 $5,863,453; FY 00 est $6,658,000; and FY 01 est $0.

Budget Account Number:  75-0350-0-1-550.

Authorization:  Public Health Service Act, Title VII, Part C, Section 750, as amended; Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998, Public Law 105-392.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  PHS Grants Policy Statement, DHHS Publication No. (OASH) 94-50,000, (Rev.) April 1, 1994.

93.886 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  Capt. Edwin Spirer, Program Specialist, Primary Care Medical, Education Branch, Division of Medicine, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn Bldg., Room 9A-27, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, Phone: (301) 443-1467. E-Mail: espirer@hrsa.gov.

Headquarters Office:  Program Contact: Martha Evans, Acting Chief, Primary Care Medical Education Branch, Division of Medicine, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Room 9A-27, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857. Phone: (301) 443-1467. Grants Management Contact: Ms. Wilma Johnson, Grants Management Officer, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 8C-26, Rockville, MD 20857. Phone: (301) 443-6880. Use the same numbers for FTS.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

93.886 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  This program has no statutory formula or matching requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Funds are available for expenditure during approved budget period. Payment is made by Electronic Transfer System or Monthly Cash Request System.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Grants may not be used for construction, patient services, and student assistance.

93.886 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  Progress reports must be submitted annually. Financial status reports are required within 90 days after end of each budget period. A final progress report and final financial status report must be submitted within 90 days after the end of the project period.

Audits:  In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. In addition, grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspection and audits by DHHS and other Federal government officials.

Records:  Financial records must be kept available for 3 years after submission of financial status reports and 3 years after final disposition of nonexpendable property. If questions remain such as those raised as a result of the audit, records must be retained until the matter is resolved.