2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 23 - POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-81-102) › EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS (§§ 23-74-101 — 23-81-102) › Article 76.5 - COLORADO RURAL HEALTH-CARE WORKFORCE INITIATIVE (§§ 23-76.5-101 — 23-76.5-105) › Section 23-76.5-102 - Colorado rural health-care workforce initiative - institution health-care professionals rural tracks

(1)
There is established the Colorado rural health-care workforce initiative to expand the number of health-care professionals practicing in Colorado's rural or frontier counties.
(2)
As part of the initiative, an institution of higher education may establish a health-care professionals rural track, or expand an existing rural track, that meets the criteria described in subsection (3) of this section, within any specified health-care professional credential or degree program offered at the institution. On or before August 1 of each fiscal year in which an institution receives funding for a rural track, the institution shall submit to the rural program office a written plan describing how the institution intends to use the funding to meet the requirements for a rural track described in subsection (3) of this section.
(3)
Subject to available appropriations, in operating a rural track, an institution shall:
(a)
Conduct an outreach campaign to promote knowledge of and interest in rural health-care careers, inform students and prospective students of the initiative, and identify potential student applicants;
(b)
Prioritize admission to the institution and set aside seats in its health-care professional education program for students in the rural track;
(c)
Award scholarships to students in the rural track, as described in subsection (6) of this section;
(d)
Offer didactic curriculum that the rural program office develops in collaboration with other institutions that operate a rural track related to practicing the health-care discipline in rural or frontier counties to students in the rural track;
(e)
Identify rural or frontier counties in which students may accomplish their clinical training and establish relationships between students and health-care professionals in rural or frontier counties who can serve as preceptors;
(f)
Provide instructional support and administrative resources for preceptors; and
(g)
Place students for a significant duration in rural or frontier counties for clinical instruction and training of significant depth from a preceptor, which placement may be in collaboration with the rural program office and other participating programs in the initiative.
(4)
An institution that receives funding for a rural track shall report to the rural program office information about the rural track requested by the rural program office for the purpose of preparing the report described in section
23-76.5-104
.
(5)
An institution may use the money appropriated for its rural track pursuant to section
23-76.5-105
for the following:
(a)
Total or partial compensation for one or more faculty or staff to develop the rural track and to operate the rural track in a manner that meets the requirements listed in subsection (3) of this section;
(b)
The cost of housing for students for all or part of the duration of the students' clinical instruction and training in a rural or frontier county;
(c)
Training preceptors who practice in rural or frontier counties to provide personalized clinical instruction or training to rural track students; and
(d)
Providing scholarships to students in the rural track, as described in subsection (6) of this section.
(6)
(a)
An institution that operates a rural track shall award scholarships to students participating in the rural track who commit in writing to living and working as a health-care professional in a rural or frontier county for two years after completing education and training. An institution shall use forty percent of the funding received for the rural track to award scholarships. The institution may determine the amount of each scholarship based on the scholarship applicant's demonstrated financial need and demonstrated commitment to working as a health-care professional in a rural or frontier county.
(b)
A student who fails to fulfill the commitment to work in a rural or frontier county after accepting a scholarship shall remit the full amount of the scholarship to the institution that awarded the scholarship. Each institution that operates a rural track is responsible for developing a process for determining whether a student fulfills the commitment and for recovering scholarship money when necessary. An institution that recovers scholarship money pursuant to this subsection (6)(b) shall use the money for any permissible use described in subsection (3) of this section.
(c)
Receiving a scholarship described in this subsection (6) does not affect the student's eligibility for the Colorado health service corps described in part 5 of article
1.5
of title
25
or for the dental loan repayment program described in article
23
of title
25
.
Added by 2022 Ch. 298, § 2, eff. 6/1/2022.