SHARP Support-for-Service​​

Announcement

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announces a new SHARP-1 loan repayment opportunity for selected healthcare practitioners in State Fiscal Year 2019. This is one of SHARP’s periodically issued standard applicant-solicitations.

• SHARP-1: Opportunity for Healthcare Practitioner Loan Repayment for State Fiscal Year 2019 – Now Open
  Applications are being accepted on 4/1/19, and thereafter.

Availability of Applications

The clinician application form and the employer application form for this solicitation will be available starting Monday April 1, 2019.  Once this SHARP-1 application opportunity opens on April 1st the program intends to keep the application opportunity open because SHARP is implementing a new “rolling admissions” process. 

Clinician Application

To receive a copy of SHARP’s standard clinician application form, please email us at: sharp.applications@alaska.gov

• Once you have completed your clinician application form, please submit this to SHARP via emailed attachment to this same address.
• You must return the form in its original “live” format (aka “clickable” or “fillable” form); i.e. do not “print-off” and “scan” a hardcopy./li>

All interested clinicians must apply anew, regardless of whether they have applied previously.

• The date of submission (within the eligible range) is not relevant in the prioritization process.
• SHARP does not use a “first come, first served” approach for either the review and/or selection of applicants.
• The program does not charge a cost for practitioners to submit a clinician application.
• All eligible SHARP-1 practitioners will be generalist outpatient clinicians.  The eligible occupations are grouped into two tiers:
• Tier 1 includes Doctor of Allopathic Medicine (M.D.); Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.); Dentist (D.D.S. or D.M.D); and Pharmacist.
• Tier 2 includes: Clinical or Counseling Psychologist (Ph.D. or Psy.D.); Licensed Clinical Social Worker; Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); Marriage and Family Therapist; Nurse Midwife; Nurse Practitioner; Physician Assistant; Registered Clinical Dental Hygienist; and Registered Nurse (R.N.).

Employer Application

To receive a copy of SHARP’s standard employer application form, please email us at: sharp.applications@alaska.gov

• Once you have completed your clinician application form, please submit this to SHARP via emailed attachment to this same address.
• You must return the form in its original “live” format (aka “clickable” or “fillable” form); i.e. do not “print-off” and “scan” a hardcopy.

If an agency has already successfully applied to SHARP (any time after 1/1/18) then the agency need not submit another employer application form.   However, agencies are free to update their employer applications (e.g. requesting more or different occupations).

• The date of submission (within the eligible range) is not relevant in the prioritization process.
• All employer applicants must sign and endorse the provided attestation page, which will also be on the SHARP website.
• SHARP does not charge a cost for employers to submit an application for this solicitation.

We expect that many healthcare agencies will identified as eligible, including both private non-profit and public (government) healthcare sites. 

• Examples include (but are not limited to) community health centers, critical access hospitals, community mental health (behavioral health) clinics, tribal health organizations, drug treatment facilities, long-term care facilities and others.
• For a site to be eligible-to-apply, the site must at least be either designated as, or be within, a federal Health Professions Shortage Area (HPSA). 
• If you require more information about federal HPSA designations, please see: Find Shortage Areas.

Decisions Timeline

Alaska’s SHARP Council will periodically meet in publicly noticed meetings to review and select from the pool of eligible applications.  These business meetings will occur at least once per quarter, and the schedule of these meetings will be publicly notice.

Service Contract Benefit

Education loan-debt repayment support is paid in an amount of up to the maximum annual benefit for the practitioner.

• Those maximum amounts are: Tier-1: $35,000 - $47,000, and Tier-2: $20,000 - $27,000, with the maximum amounts (within each Tier) dependent upon whether the position is categorized as “regular fill” vs. “very hard-to-fill.”
• All SHARP education loan repayments are exempt from federal personal income tax according to federal regulation. 
• SHARP’s support-for-service awards are strictly in addition to (and are not a supplanting of) the clinician’s regular employer-provided wage and benefit. 
• Once a practitioner has received and completed an initial two-year contract award, and remains in good standing, he/she is welcome to apply again.  However, all applications occur through the SHARP program’s standard competitive process. 
• Receiving an initial contract does not automatically ensure receipt of a second contract.

Technical Assistance

We have scheduled statewide teleconferences for technical assistance for (any) interested parties to learn more about this SHARP-1 opportunity.  These teleconferences are optional, and any interested party can call-in.  Content repeats on the following dates.

• Call 888-392-4560 then dial code 5818485#
• Friday 4/05: 11:30-12:30
• Friday 4/12: 11:30-12:30
• Friday 4/19: 11:30-12:30
• Friday 4/26: 11:30-12:30
• Friday 5/03: 11:30-12:30
• Friday 5/10: 11:30-12:30

SHARP-1 – Checklist for Eligibility to Apply
Basic Required Elements

Alaska’s SHARP-1 program option is based on our now-traditional HRSA partnership grant. Thus, know that HRSA has several stipulations as to basic eligibility requirements. The list of those basic requirements (at least) includes the following items.

Clinicians must:

• Be in an eligible medical, dental or behavioral health occupation
• Provide direct patient care (at least some)
• Provide primary care (outpatient, ambulatory clinic); generalist
• Have eligible education loan debt only (in your name only; & not co-mingled)
• Plan on participating in either full-time or half-time capacity
• Be finished with licensure-relevant school/training
• Hold a relevant occupational license
• Be able to start contract soon (e.g. between Oct & Dec)
• Be a U.S. citizen (or naturalized)

Employers must:

• Be a non-profit or government entities (and not for-profit)
• Have or be located within a federal HPSA designation
• Provide outpatient, clinic based care (in most all instances) (if inpatient services, then only at CAHs in HPSAs, or tribal hospitals)
• Be Prepared to pay required employer match

Important:

The interested party CAN submit and application, even though any of these are items are NOT YET true. However, in order for the SHARP contract to actually begin (i.e. service credit begins to accrue), then all of these elements must be true.

If you still need clarification as to meaning on any of these items, please send an email request to sharp.inquiry@alaska.gov​. 


SHARP-I

The purpose of the SHARP-I program option is to recruit and retain selected primary health care professionals to serve in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in exchange for the repayment of qualifying educational loans, pursuant to a signed SHARP MOA with the State of Alaska. 

• Project Abstract
• SHARP one-pager
  
• Position Type: Regular v. Very Hard-to-Fill
• Employer Match
• Employer Recruitment Prerogative
• Demonstration Project I: Recruitment & Retention of Substance Abuse Clinicians
• Demonstration Project I: Recruitment & Retention of Clinicians to Replace Locum Tenens
• Eligible Inpatient Settings
• Contract-3: Off-Cycle Contracts

Service Contract

Interested parties can view an inspection copy of the current SHARP-I Memorandum of Agreement:

• SHARP-I MOA
  

What is the best way to ask about SHARP?

The best way to ask about the SHARP Program is by email. If you send an email we will have your email address and will be able to alert you to opportunities in the SHARP Program. Please send your email to: sharp.inquiry@alaska.gov.

Or fill out the SHARP Inquiry Form

BASICS OF SHARP-I

Eligible Occupations

Tier-1: Award Amount $35,000 per year; Very Hard-to-Fill $47,000 per year.

• Primary Care Physician (MD or DO), includes Psychiatrists
• Pharmacist
• Dentist (DDS or DMD)

Tier-2: Award Amount $20,000; Very Hard-to-Fill $27,000 per year.

• Nurse Practitioner
• Physician Assistant
• Registered Nurse
• Certified Nurse Midwife
• Psychologist (Ph.D. or PsyD)
• Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
• Psychiatric Nurse Specialist (PNS)
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Marriage & Family Therapist (MFT)
• Registered Clinical Dental Hygienist

SHARP: Providing Support-for-Service to Health Care Practitioners

Overview

The purpose of SHARP is to address the worsening shortage of certain health professionals in the state by increasing the number and improving the distribution of healthcare professionals who provide direct patient care. SHARP particularly focuses on increasing the access to healthcare for higher-needs populations by working to increase the recruitment and retention of selected health care practitioners. SHARP provides support-for-service to practitioners in the form of either repayment of qualifying education loans and/or payment of direct incentive, pursuant to a signed SHARP contract with the State of Alaska.

SHARP featured in the Alaska Legislative Digest March 18, 2018

• Health professional recruitment set to expand
  

Read about Alaska's SHARP Program in the Alaska Journal of Commerce.

• State program shows success recruiting health workers

NPR Series "Our Land" Features SHARP Program Physician Working in Klukwan.

• In Rural Alaska, a Young Doctor Walks to his Patient's Bedside

Check out the article on the SHARP Program in Northwest Pulse, the e-newsletter of the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association.

• Role of Support-for-Service in the Healthcare System: Lessons from Alaska's SHARP Program
  

Funding

SHARP is operated by the State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services, and is jointly supported by funds from several sources including the State of Alaska’s General Fund, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, and the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), and required partial employer match.

What People are Saying About SHARP

SHARP is working and we're making progress!

• See what people are saying about the SHARP Program.

Employer Agencies in Alaska that have Used the SHARP Program

• Employer Agencies that have Used SHARP provides a list of employer sites that either currently use SHARP or have used SHARP in the past. The list is arranged by occupation category.

Important Notice about Concurrent Service Obligations

Concurrent service obligations are not allowed in the SHARP Program. SHARP participants can only receive one support-for-service award. In some cases an employer will offer the clinician a signing bonus and/or moving expenses as a service obligation. Clinicians who receive these benefits can participate in the SHARP Program as long as the employer stipulates that these benefits don’t constitute a service obligation.

• Alaska's SHARP program and support for service obligations.
• Cancelation letter to waive moving expenses and signing bonuses as service obligation.

Looking for a health care job in Alaska?

Frequently we are asked by clinicians interested in working in Alaska about the best way to find a job, or if we can help them find a job. We emphasize that we are not a job referral agency. In general we do not know which health care agencies are recruiting for which positions. We do, however, want clinicians and employers to get acquainted with the goal of providing health care in under-served areas of the state.

We have reached out to Alaska health care facilities and asked them to provide contact information to enabled candidates to inquire about health care opportunities. Many facilities have responded generously with the names and email addresses of staff to contact about employment. The websites of these facilities are also provided. Job searchers should go to the websites to see specifically which jobs are available.

It continues to be our mission to build the Alaska health care workforce. As employers continue to send their contact information to us we will update this list of recruiting agencies. This list is not all inclusive and only contains the information that health care facilities have sent us. You should use this list as a way to develop a network of contacts and to become better acquainted with the health care system in Alaska.

As part of your search for health care opportunities in Alaska you should also register with 3RNet, the Rural Recruitment and Retention Network for employers and candidates.

• Robert Sewell, Ph.D., Program Director
  Alaska Division of Public Health
  Section of Health Planning & Systems Development 
  P.O. Box 110610
  Juneau, AK 99811-0610
  Phone: (907) 465-4065