II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 473 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote and improve the allied 

health professions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2005 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote and 

improve the allied health professions.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Allied Health Reinvest5 ment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) The United States Census Bureau and 

10 other reports highlight the increased demand for 
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1 acute and chronic healthcare services among both 

2 the general population and a rapidly growing aging 

3 portion of the population. 

4 (2) The calls for reduction in medical errors, in5 creased patient safety, and quality of care have re6 sulted in an amplified call for allied health profes7 sionals to provide healthcare services. 

8 (3) Several allied health professions are charac9 terized by workforce shortages, declining enrollments 

10 in allied health education programs, or a combina11 tion of both factors, and hospital officials have re12 ported vacancy rates in positions occupied by allied 

13 health professionals. 

14 (4) Many allied health education programs are 

15 facing significant economic pressure that could force 

16 their closure due to an insufficient number of stu17 dents. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro19 vide incentives for individuals to seek and complete high 

20 quality allied health education and training and provide 

21 additional funding to ensure that such education and 

22 training can be provided to allied health students so that 

23 the United States healthcare industry with have a supply 

24 of allied health professionals needed to support the health 
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1 care system of the United States in this decade and be2 yond. 

3 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

4 ACT. 

5 Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 292 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘PART G—ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 

9 ‘‘SEC. 799C. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this part: 

11 ‘‘(1) ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

12 The term ‘allied health education program’ means 

13 any postsecondary educational program offered by 

14 an institution accredited by an agency or commission 

15 recognized by the Department of Education, or lead16 ing to a State certificate or license or any other edu17 cational program approved by the Secretary. Such 

18 term includes colleges, universities, or schools of al19 lied health and equivalent entities that include pro20 grams leading to a certificate, associate, bacca21 laureate, or graduate level degree in an allied health 

22 profession. 

23 ‘‘(2) ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS.—The 

24 term ‘allied health professions’ includes professions 
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1 in the following areas at the certificate, associate, 

2 baccalaureate, or graduate level: 

3 ‘‘(A) Dental hygiene. 

4 ‘‘(B) Dietetics or nutrition. 

5 ‘‘(C) Emergency medical services. 

6 ‘‘(D) Health information management. 

7 ‘‘(E) Clinical laboratory sciences and med8 ical technology. 

9 ‘‘(F) Cytotechnology. 

10 ‘‘(G) Occupational therapy. 

11 ‘‘(H) Physical therapy. 

12 ‘‘(I) Radiologic technology. 

13 ‘‘(J) Nuclear medical technology. 

14 ‘‘(K) Rehabilitation counseling. 

15 ‘‘(L) Respiratory therapy. 

16 ‘‘(M) Speech-language pathology and audi17 ology. 

18 ‘‘(N) Any other profession determined ap19 propriate by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(3) HEALTH CARE FACILITY.—The term 

21 ‘health care facility’ means an outpatient health care 

22 facility, hospital, nursing home, home health care 

23 agency, hospice, federally qualified health center, 

24 nurse managed health center, rural health clinic, 
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1 public health clinic, or any similar healthcare facility 

2 or practice that employs allied health professionals. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 799C–1. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

4 ‘‘The Secretary shall develop and issue public service 

5 announcements that shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) advertise and promote the allied health 

7 professions; 

8 ‘‘(2) highlight the advantages and rewards of 

9 the allied health professions; and 

10 ‘‘(3) encourage individuals from diverse commu11 nities and backgrounds to enter the allied health 

12 professions. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 799C–2. STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE AN14 NOUNCEMENTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

16 grants to designated eligible entities to support State and 

17 local advertising campaigns that are conducted through 

18 appropriate media outlets (as determined by the Sec19 retary) to— 

20 ‘‘(1) promote the allied health professions; 

21 ‘‘(2) highlight the advantages and rewards of 

22 the allied health professions; and 

23 ‘‘(3) encourage individuals from disadvantaged 

24 communities and backgrounds to enter the allied 

25 health professions. 
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) be a professional, national, or State allied 

4 health association, State health care provider, or as5 sociation of one or more health care facilities, allied 

6 health education programs, or other entities that 

7 provides similar services or serves a like function; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

10 application at such time, in such manner, and con11 taining such information as the Secretary may re12 quire. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 799C–3. ALLIED HEALTH RECRUITMENT GRANT PRO14 GRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

16 award grants to eligible entities to increase allied health 

17 professions education opportunities. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

19 grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) be a professional, national, or State allied 

21 health association, State health care provider, or as22 sociation of one or more health care facilities, allied 

23 health education programs, or other eligible entities 

24 that provides similar services or serves a like func25 tion; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

2 application at such time, in such manner, and con3 taining such information as the Secretary may re4 quire. 

5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use amounts 

6 received under a grant under subsection (a) to— 

7 ‘‘(1) support outreach programs at elementary 

8 and secondary schools that inform guidance coun9 selors and students of education opportunities re10 garding the allied health professions; 

11 ‘‘(2) carry out special projects to increase allied 

12 health education opportunities for individuals who 

13 are from disadvantaged backgrounds (including ra14 cial and ethnic minorities that are underrepresented 

15 among the allied health professions) by providing 

16 student scholarships or stipends, pre-entry prepara17 tion, and retention activities; 

18 ‘‘(3) provide assistance to public and nonprofit 

19 private educational institutions to support remedial 

20 education programs for allied health students who 

21 require assistance with math, science, English, and 

22 medical terminology; 

23 ‘‘(4) meet the costs of child care and transpor24 tation for individuals who are taking part in an al25 lied health education program at any level; and 
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1 ‘‘(5) support community-based partnerships 

2 seeking to recruit allied health professionals in rural 

3 communities and medically underserved urban com4 munities, and other communities experiencing an al5 lied health professions shortage. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 799C–4. GRANTS FOR HEALTH CAREER ACADEMIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

8 grants to eligible entities to assist such entities in collabo9 rating to carry out programs that form education pipelines 

10 to facilitate the entry of students of secondary educational 

11 institutions, especially underrepresented racial and ethnic 

12 minorities, into careers in the allied health professions. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

14 grant under subsection (a), an entity shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) be an institution that offers allied health 

16 education programs, a health care facility, or a sec17 ondary educational institution; and 

18 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

19 application at such time, in such manner, and con20 taining such information as the Secretary may re21 quire. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 799C–5. ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATION, PRACTICE, AND 

2 RETENTION GRANTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) EDUCATION PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary 

4 may award grants to or enter into contracts with eligible 

5 entities to— 

6 ‘‘(1) expand the enrollment of individuals in al7 lied health education programs, especially the enroll8 ment of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority 

9 students; and 

10 ‘‘(2) provide education through new tech11 nologies and methods, including distance-learning 

12 methodologies. 

13 ‘‘(b) PRACTICE PRIORITY AREAS.—The Secretary 

14 may award grants to or enter into contracts with eligible 

15 entities to— 

16 ‘‘(1) establish or expand allied health practice 

17 arrangements in noninstitutional settings to dem18 onstrate methods to improve access to primary 

19 health care in rural areas and other medically under20 served communities; 

21 ‘‘(2) provide care for underserved populations 

22 and other high-risk groups such as the elderly, indi23 viduals with HIV/AIDS, substance abusers, the 

24 homeless, and victims of domestic violence; 

25 ‘‘(3) provide managed care, information man26 agement, quality improvement, and other skills need-
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1 ed to practice in existing and emerging organized 

2 health care systems; or 

3 ‘‘(4) develop generational and cultural com4 petencies among allied health professionals. 

5 ‘‘(c) RETENTION PRIORITY AREAS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

7 grants to and enter into contracts with eligible enti8 ties to enhance the allied health professions work9 force by initiating and maintaining allied health re10 tention programs described in paragraph (2) or (3). 

11 ‘‘(2) GRANTS FOR CAREER LADDER PRO12 GRAMS.—The Secretary may award grants to and 

13 enter into contracts with eligible entities for pro14 grams— 

15 ‘‘(A) to promote career advancement for 

16 allied health personnel in a variety of training 

17 settings, cross training or specialty training 

18 among diverse population groups, and the ad19 vancement of individuals; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to assist individuals in obtaining the 

21 education and training required to enter the al22 lied health professions and advance within such 

23 professions, such as by providing career coun24 seling and mentoring. 
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1 ‘‘(3) ENHANCING PATIENT CARE DELIVERY

2 SYSTEMS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award 

4 grants to eligible entities to improve the reten5 tion of allied health professionals and to en6 hance patient care that is directly related to al7 lied health activities by enhancing collaboration 

8 and communication among allied health profes9 sionals and other health care professionals, and 

10 by promoting allied health involvement in the 

11 organizational and clinical decision-making 

12 processes of a health care facility. 

13 ‘‘(B) PREFERENCE.—In making awards of 

14 grants under this paragraph, the Secretary 

15 shall give preferences to applicants that have 

16 not previously received an award under this 

17 paragraph and to applicants from rural, under18 served areas. 

19 ‘‘(C) CONTINUATION OF AN AWARD.—The 

20 Secretary shall make continuation of any award 

21 under this paragraph beyond the second year of 

22 such award contingent on the recipient of such 

23 award having demonstrated to the Secretary 

24 measurable and substantive improvement in al25 lied health personnel retention or patient care. 
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1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 grant under this section, an entity shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) be a health care facility, or any partner4 ship or coalition containing a health care facility or 

5 allied health education program; and 

6 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

7 application at such time, in such manner, and con8 taining such information as the Secretary may re9 quire. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 799C–6. DEVELOPING MODELS AND BEST PRACTICES 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall award 

13 grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to carry 

14 out demonstration programs using models and best prac15 tices in allied health for the purpose of developing innova16 tive strategies or approaches for the retention of allied 

17 health professionals. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

19 grant under this section, an entity shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) be a health care facility, or any partner21 ship or coalition containing a health care facility or 

22 allied health education program; and 

23 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

24 application at such time, in such manner, and con-
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1 taining such information as the Secretary may re2 quire. 

3 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—In awarding 

4 grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that 

5 grantees represent a variety of geographic regions and a 

6 range of different types and sizes of facilities, including 

7 facilities located in rural, urban, and suburban areas. 

8 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use amounts 

9 received under a grant under this section to carry out 

10 demonstration programs of models and best practices in 

11 allied health for the purpose of— 

12 ‘‘(1) promoting retention and satisfaction of al13 lied health professionals; 

14 ‘‘(2) promoting opportunities for allied health 

15 professionals to pursue education, career advance16 ment, and organizational recognition; and 

17 ‘‘(3) developing continuing education programs 

18 that instruct allied health professionals in how to 

19 use emerging medical technologies and how to ad20 dress current and future health care needs. 

21 ‘‘(e) AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTERS.—The 

22 Secretary shall award grants to area health education cen23 ters to enable such centers to enter into contracts with 

24 allied health education programs to expand the operation 

25 of area health education centers to work in communities 
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1 to develop models of excellence for allied health profes2 sionals or to expand any junior and senior high school 

3 mentoring programs to include an allied health professions 

4 mentoring program. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 799C–7. ALLIED HEALTH FACULTY LOAN PROGRAM. 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

7 through the Administrator of the Health Resources and 

8 Services Administration, may enter into an agreement 

9 with any institution offering an eligible allied health edu10 cation program for the establishment and operation of a 

11 faculty loan fund in accordance with this section (referred 

12 to in this section as the ‘loan fund’), to increase the num13 ber of qualified allied health faculty. 

14 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS.—Each agreement entered into 

15 under this section shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) provide for the establishment of a loan 

17 fund by the institution offering the allied health edu18 cation program involved; 

19 ‘‘(2) provide for deposit in the loan fund of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Federal capital contributions to 

21 the fund; 

22 ‘‘(B) an amount provided by the institution 

23 involved which shall be equal to not less than 

24 one-ninth of the amount of the Federal capital 

25 contribution under subparagraph (A); 
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1 ‘‘(C) any collections of principal and inter2 est on loans made from the fund; and 

3 ‘‘(D) any other earnings of the fund; 

4 ‘‘(3) provide that the loan fund will be used 

5 only for the provision of loans to faculty of the allied 

6 health education program in accordance with sub7 section (c) and for the costs of the collection of such 

8 loans and the interest thereon; 

9 ‘‘(4) provide that loans may be made from such 

10 fund only to faculty who are pursuing a full-time 

11 course of study or, at the discretion of the Secretary, 

12 a part-time course of study in an advanced degree 

13 program; and 

14 ‘‘(5) contain such other provisions determined 

15 appropriate by the Secretary to protect the financial 

16 interests of the United States. 

17 ‘‘(c) LOAN PROVISIONS.—Loans from any faculty 

18 loan fund established pursuant to an agreement under this 

19 section shall be made to an individual on such terms and 

20 conditions as the allied health education program may de21 termine, except that— 

22 ‘‘(1) such terms and conditions are subject to 

23 any conditions, limitations, and requirements pre24 scribed by the Secretary; 
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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of any individual, the total of 

2 the loans for any academic year made by an allied 

3 health education program from loan funds estab4 lished pursuant to agreements under this section 

5 may not exceed $30,000, plus any amount deter6 mined by the Secretary on an annual basis to reflect 

7 inflation; 

8 ‘‘(3) upon completion by the individual of each 

9 of the first, second, and third year of full-time em10 ployment, as required under the loan agreement, as 

11 a faculty member in an allied health education pro12 gram, the program shall cancel 20 percent of the 

13 principal and interest due on the amount of the un14 paid portion of the loan on the first day of such em15 ployment; 

16 ‘‘(4) upon completion by the individual of the 

17 fourth year of full-time employment, as required 

18 under the loan agreement, as a faculty member in 

19 an allied health education program, the program 

20 shall cancel 25 percent of the principal and interest 

21 due on the amount of the unpaid portion of the loan 

22 on the first day of such employment; 

23 ‘‘(5) the loan may be used to pay the cost of 

24 tuition, fees, books, laboratory expenses, and other 

25 reasonable education expenses; 
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1 ‘‘(6) the loan shall be repayable in equal or 

2 graduated periodic installments (with the right of 

3 the borrower to accelerate repayment) over the 10-

4 year period that begins 9 months after the individual 

5 ceases to pursue a course of study in an allied health 

6 education program; and 

7 ‘‘(7) such loan shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date that is 3 

9 months after the individual ceases to pursue a 

10 course of study in an allied health education 

11 program, bear interest on the unpaid balance of 

12 the loan at the rate of 3 percent per year; or 

13 ‘‘(B) subject to subsection (e), if the allied 

14 health education program determines that the 

15 individual will not complete such course of 

16 study or serve as a faculty member as required 

17 under the loan agreement under this subsection, 

18 bear interest on the unpaid balance of the loan 

19 at the prevailing market rate. 

20 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF PROPORTIONATE SHARE.—Where 

21 all or any part of a loan (including interest thereon) is 

22 canceled under this section, the Secretary shall pay to the 

23 allied health education program involved an amount equal 

24 to the program’s proportionate share of the canceled por25 tion, as determined by the Secretary. 
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1 ‘‘(e) REVIEW BY SECRETARY.—At the request of the 

2 individual involved, the Secretary may review any deter3 mination by an allied health education program under this 

4 section. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 799C–8. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR SERVICE IN 

6 RURAL AND OTHER MEDICALLY UNDER7 SERVED AREAS. 

8 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

9 establish a scholarship program (referred to in this section 

10 as the ‘program’) to provide scholarships to individuals 

11 seeking allied health education who agree to provide serv12 ice in rural and other medically underserved areas with 

13 allied health personnel shortages. 

14 ‘‘(b) PREFERENCE.—In awarding scholarships under 

15 this section, the Secretary shall give preference to— 

16 ‘‘(1) applicants who demonstrate the greatest 

17 financial need; 

18 ‘‘(2) applicants who agree to serve in health 

19 care facilities experiencing allied health shortages in 

20 rural and other medically underserved areas; 

21 ‘‘(3) applicants who are currently working in a 

22 health care facility who agree to serve the period of 

23 obligated service at such facility; 

24 ‘‘(4) minority applicants; and 
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1 ‘‘(5) applicants with an interest in a practice 

2 area of allied health that has unmet needs. 

3 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CONTRACTS.—Under the program, the 

5 Secretary shall enter into contracts with eligible in6 dividuals under which such individuals agree to serve 

7 as allied health professionals for a period of not less 

8 than 2 years at a health care facility with a critical 

9 shortage of allied health professionals in consider10 ation of the Federal Government agreeing to provide 

11 to the individuals scholarships for attendance in an 

12 allied health education program. 

13 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—In this sub14 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an indi15 vidual who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment as 

16 a full-time or part-time student in an allied health 

17 education program. 

18 ‘‘(3) SERVICE REQUIREMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

20 not enter into a contract with an eligible indi21 vidual under this section unless the individual 

22 agrees to serve as an allied health professional 

23 at a health care facility with a critical shortage 

24 of allied health professionals for a period of 

25 full-time service of not less than 2 years, or for 
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1 a period of part-time service in accordance with 

2 subparagraph (B). 

3 ‘‘(B) PART-TIME SERVICE.—An individual 

4 may complete the period of service described in 

5 subparagraph (A) on a part-time basis if the in6 dividual has a written agreement that— 

7 ‘‘(i) is entered into by the facility and 

8 the individual and is approved by the Sec9 retary; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) provides that the period of obli11 gated service will be extended so that the 

12 aggregate amount of service performed will 

13 equal the amount of service that would be 

14 performed through a period of full-time 

15 service of not less than 2 years. 

16 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 18 months after the 

17 date of enactment of this part, and annually thereafter, 

18 the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

19 committees of Congress a report describing the program 

20 carried out under this section, including statements re21 garding— 

22 ‘‘(1) the number of enrollees by specialty or dis23 cipline, scholarships, and grant recipients; 

24 ‘‘(2) the number of graduates; 

25 ‘‘(3) the amount of scholarship payments made; 
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1 ‘‘(4) which educational institution the recipients 

2 attended; 

3 ‘‘(5) the number and placement location of the 

4 scholarship recipients at health care facilities with a 

5 critical shortage of allied health professionals; 

6 ‘‘(6) the default rate and actions required; 

7 ‘‘(7) the amount of outstanding default funds of 

8 the scholarship program; 

9 ‘‘(8) to the extent that it can be determined, 

10 the reason for the default; 

11 ‘‘(9) the demographics of the individuals par12 ticipating in the scholarship program; and 

13 ‘‘(10) an evaluation of the overall costs and 

14 benefits of the program. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 799C–9. GRANTS FOR CLINICAL EDUCATION, INTERN16 SHIP, AND RESIDENCY PROGRAMS. 

17 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

18 award grants to eligible entities to develop clinical edu19 cation, internship, and residency programs that encourage 

20 mentoring and the development of specialties. 

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible for a grant 

22 under this section an entity shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) be a partnership of an allied health edu24 cation program and a health care facility; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

2 application at such time, in such manner, and con3 taining such information as the Secretary may re4 quire. 

5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use 

6 amounts received under a grant under this section to— 

7 ‘‘(1) develop clinical education, internship, and 

8 residency programs and curriculum and training 

9 programs for graduates of an allied health education 

10 program; 

11 ‘‘(2) provide support for faculty and mentors; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(3) provide support for allied health profes14 sionals participating in clinical education, internship, 

15 and residency programs on both a full-time and 

16 part-time basis. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 799C–10. GRANTS FOR PARTNERSHIPS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

19 grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to form 

20 partnerships to carry out the activities described in this 

21 section. 

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

23 grant under this section, and entity shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) be a partnership between an allied health 

25 education program and a health care facility; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

2 application at such time, in such manner, and con3 taining such information as the Secretary may re4 quire. 

5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use 

6 amounts received under a grant under this section to— 

7 ‘‘(1) provide employees of the health care facil8 ity that is a member of the partnership involved ad9 vanced training and education in a allied health edu10 cation program; 

11 ‘‘(2) establish or expand allied health practice 

12 arrangements in non-institutional settings to dem13 onstrate methods to improve access to health care in 

14 rural and other medically underserved communities; 

15 ‘‘(3) purchase distance learning technology to 

16 extend general education and training programs to 

17 rural areas, and to extend specialty education and 

18 training programs to all areas; and 

19 ‘‘(4) establish or expand mentoring, clinical 

20 education, and internship programs for training in 

21 specialty care areas. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 799C–11. ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING 

23 FOR DIVERSITY. 

24 ‘‘The Secretary, acting in conjunction with allied 

25 health professional associations, shall develop a system for 
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1 collecting and analyzing allied health workforce data gath2 ered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Health Re3 sources and Services Administration, other entities within 

4 the Department of Health and Human Services, the De5 partment of Veterans Affairs, the Center for Medicare & 

6 Medicaid Services, the Department of Defense, allied 

7 health professional associations, and regional centers for 

8 health workforce studies to determine educational pipeline 

9 and practitioner shortages, and project future needs for 

10 such a workforce. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 799C–12. ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING 

12 FOR DIVERSITY. 

13 ‘‘The Secretary shall include schools of allied health 

14 among the health professions schools that are eligible to 

15 receive grants under this part for the purpose of assisting 

16 such schools in supporting Centers of Excellence in health 

17 professions education for under-represented minority indi18 viduals. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 799C–13. REPORTS BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OF20 FICE. 

21 ‘‘Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

22 of this part, the Comptroller General of the United States 

23 shall conduct an evaluation of whether the programs car24 ried out under this part have demonstrably increased the 

25 number of applicants to allied health education programs 
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1 and prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of 

2 Congress a report concerning the results of such evalua3 tion. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 799C–14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this part, such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

7 years 2006 through 2011.’’.

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