The Arizona State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) within the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health provides loan repayment incentives to eligible health care providers who commit to serve in Arizona’s medically underserved communities. Up to $65,000 of loan repayment assistance are available for physicians and dentists and up to $50,000 for physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, independently licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors and clinical psychologists, in exchange for an initial two-year commitment to serve in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in Arizona.

Over the last two years since the program’s expansion in 2015, we have had a significant demand for the program – a 300% increase which was over and beyond program capacity funded at $650,000 annually by State Emergency Medical Services funds. With support from our partnership with public and private stakeholders, the program received an additional $350,000 of state appropriation during the recently concluded legislative session.

On May 5, 2017, the program received very exciting news that the budget request was approved bringing the total SLRP budget to $1 million dollars annually. This increase is critical for ADHS to request the total allowable federal match of $1 million from HRSA in the upcoming competitive federal grant application period.