NYS Health Department Awards $500,000 in Doctors Across New York Funds to Support Physicians Practicing in Underserved Communities

Five health care providers in New York State have been awarded grants totaling up to $500,000 over two years to support physicians who practice medicine in underserved communities through the "Doctors Across New York" Program. The announcement was made by NYS Health Commissioner Commissioner Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H.

"The Doctors Across New York Program is a critical program to help ensure that New Yorkers in every community in the State have access to high quality health care services," Commissioner Shah said. "These grants will help these institutions increase access to vital health care services in rural and urban areas."

The Doctors Across New York Program awards funding to support recruitment and retention of physicians in underserved areas through salary enhancements, sign-on bonuses, loan repayment and other direct payments to physicians. Physicians participating in Doctors Across New York make a multi-year service commitment to practice in an underserved area in the State.

It is estimated that 25 percent of New Yorkers live in medically-underserved areas, and many communities lack physicians who can provide specialty medicine in areas such as psychiatry or obstetrics and gynecology.

Two-year awards of $100,000 were provided to the following institutions for physician practice support:

• Ellis Hospital (Schenectady, inner city) for Family Medicine;
• Nathan Littauer Hospital Association (Gloversville, rural) for Urology;
• Alseny Balde, M.D., M.P.H. (Bronx, inner city) for Family Medicine;
• FLH Medical, PC (Geneva, rural) for Psychiatry; and
• Geneva General Hospital (Geneva, rural) for General Surgery.

The Program is expected to award approximately $12 million more in 2012 to health care providers and physicians for Physician Practice Support and Physician Loan Repayment funding, with applications accepted through March 30, 2012. Information on these two Requests for Applications can be found on the State Health Department's web site at:

Physician Practice Support – http://www.health.ny.gov/funding/rfa/1103141142/

Physician Loan Repayment – http://www.health.ny.gov/funding/rfa/1104181147/