1972
National Health Service Corps. Reproduced with permission from the Health Resources and Services Administration, National Health Service Corps.
- National Health Service Corps created
Background
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) was created by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in response to the health care crises that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. Physicians who worked in rural communities began to retire, leaving many areas of the country without health care services. Several factors contributed to the trend, including the increasingly specialized nature of medical practice and rapid technological advances. Rural areas and urban neighborhoods competed unsuccessfully with affluent medical practices that offered higher compensation, more interaction with other professionals, and job opportunities for spouses. Rural communities lacked resources to provide the technologically sophisticated facilities that many physicians desired. Rural states appealed to Congress for help, and NHSC was established.
The Emergency Health Personnel Act (Public Law 91-623), which was signed into law in 1970, and subsequent amendments enacted in 1972 expanded the pool of clinicians available for service by offering scholarships to participating dentists, allopathic and osteopathic physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives.
Impact
Through scholarship and loan-repayment programs, NHSC helps ensure that Health Professional Shortage Areas have the health professionals, mental health professionals, and oral health professionals they need to meet their tremendous need for health care. About half of all NHSC health professionals work in HRSA-supported health centers, which deliver preventive and primary care services to patients regardless of ability to pay.
Source
National Health Service Corps. Mission, Work, and Impact [webpage].
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