07.17.24

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $7 Million In Federal Funding For Community-Based Residency Programs For Doctors In Underserved Areas

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $7,040,000 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to support new community-based medical residency programs for doctors in underserved areas in Illinois.  Under the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program, physicians train primarily in outpatient community sites, such as community health centers, to build the pipeline of primary care providers and address the needs of their communities.

“Across the country, we face a shortfall of 86,000 doctors over the next decade as many urban and rural areas struggle to recruit and retain health care professionals to serve their communities,” said Durbin.  “By investing in community-based residency programs for doctors, we can bolster our health care workforce while ensuring underserved communities have access to the medical treatment they need.”

“Every Illinoisan deserves access to high quality health care— no matter their zip code,” said Duckworth.  “By investing in community-based residency programs, we are helping expand our healthcare networks, supporting our medical professionals and reaching our underserved communities.  I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in announcing this federal support to help improve health equity and support our state’s health providers at every level.”

Recipients of these HHS grants include:

  1. Lawndale Christian Health Center (Affordable Care Act Teaching Health Center; Graduate Medical Education Program): $3,520,000
  2. Esperanza Health Centers (Affordable Care Act Teaching Health Center; Graduate Medical Education Program): $3,520,000

Durbin has worked to address the health care provider shortage that is harming communities across Illinois and the country.  Durbin has been a strong supporter of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), and he has introduced the bipartisan Restoring America’s Health Care Workforce and Readiness Act to reauthorize and increase funding for NHSC’s scholarship and loan repayment program for doctors, nurses, dentists, and behavioral health providers who commit to serve in rural and urban areas with provider shortages.  Durbin also authored a provision in the American Rescue Plan that invested $1 billion into the NHSC, and he has introduced the Rural American Health Corps Act.

In May 2023, Durbin unveiled his “Roadmap to Grow Illinois’ Rural Health Workforce”—a partnership with hospitals, community health centers, medical and nursing schools, community colleges, dentists, physicians, and nurses that organizes efforts and provides new funding to address health care workforce shortages and staffing crises in rural Illinois. The Roadmap focuses on: (1) pipelines to recruit middle/high-school students into health careers; (2) expanding capacity of clinical education programs; and (3) enhancing recruitment to rural areas.

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