1. (1) The department shall approve a site based on a site-submitted application.

2. (2) To determine an approved site that is not a nursing school, the department may use criteria, including:

   1. (a) the percentage of the population with an income under 200% of the federal poverty level;
   2. (b) the percentage of the geriatric population;
   3. (c) the percentage of the population under 18 years of age;
   4. (d) the distance to the nearest geriatric, health care, or mental health professional and any barrier to accessing those services;
   5. (e) the ability of the site to provide support facilities and services required for an applicant to practice in the applicant's specialty;
   6. (f) the financial stability of the site;
   7. (g) the percent of uninsured patients served or the percent of patients publicly insured by government programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP;

   8. (h) the site's policy and practice to provide care regardless of a patient's ability to pay; and

      1. (i) any other information provided by the site demonstrating support for the program's purposes as described in Section 26B-4-702.

3. (3) To determine an approved nursing school site, the department may use criteria, including:

   1. (a) a demonstrated shortage of nursing educator faculty;
   2. (b) the number of degrees sought by students;
   3. (c) the number of students denied for each degree sought;
   4. (d) the residency of students;
   5. (e) the ability of the nursing school to provide support facilities and services to train for the requested position;
   6. (f) the faculty to student ratio, including the ratio of clinical and classroom instructors;
   7. (g) the average class size for each degree offered by the school;

   8. (h) the school's plans to expand enrollment;

      1. (i) the current and projected staffing for the type of instructor requested;
   9. (j) the sources and stability of funding to hire and support the prospective instructor;

   10. (k) the distance to the nearest nursing school; and

       1. (l) any other criteria that the site can provide to demonstrate support to the program as described in Section 26B-4-702.

4. (4) The department may give preference to sites that provide letters of support from the area served by the prospective employer, including letters from any:

   1. (a) business leader;
   2. (b) citizen;
   3. (c) county or civic leader;
   4. (d) hospital administrator;
   5. (e) local chamber of commerce;
   6. (f) local health department; and
   7. (g) practicing health care professional.

5. (5) The department may give preference to a site:

   1. (a) located in a service area designated by the United States Health Resources and Services Administration as having a health care professional shortage; and

   2. (b) that requests one of the following medical specialties:

      1. (i) family practice;
      2. (ii) internal medicine;
      3. (iii) obstetrics and gynecology;
      4. (iv) pediatrics;
      5. (v) mental health;
      6. (vi) dental hygiene; or
      7. (vii) forensic pathology.
6. (6) To be considered for approval, a site must offer a salary and benefit package competitive with salary and benefit packages offered to similar healthcare professionals within the service area.

7. (7) Each approved site employing a loan repayment grant recipient shall provide education loan repayment assistance to the recipient:

   1. (a) in an amount equal to 20% of the loan repayment grant amount awarded by the department to the recipient; and
   2. (b) in accordance with the schedule provided in the site's written agreement with the recipient.

KEY: medically underserved, grants, scholarships, Utah Health Care Workforce Advisory Committee

Date of Last Change: July 1, 2025

Notice of Continuation: May 6, 2024

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 26B-1-202; 26B-4-702