32.1-122.6:02 - Conditional grants for certain nurse practitioner students
§ 32.1-122.6:02. Conditional grants for certain nurse practitioner students.
A. The Board of Health shall establish annual nursing scholarships forstudents who intend to enter an accredited nurse practitioner or nursemidwife program in designated schools. The amounts and numbers of suchscholarships shall be determined annually as provided in the appropriationact. The Commissioner shall act as fiscal agent for the Board inadministration of the scholarship program through a nursing scholarshipcommittee.
B. To administer the scholarship program, the Board shall promulgateregulations which shall include, but are not limited to:
1. Qualifications of applicants;
2. Criteria for award of the scholarship to assure that a recipient willfulfill the practice obligations established in this section;
3. Standards to assure that these scholarships increase access to primaryhealth care for individuals who are indigent or who are recipients of publicassistance;
4. Assurances that residents of Virginia, as determined by § 23-7.4, minoritystudents and residents of medically underserved areas are given preference indetermining scholarship eligibility and awards;
5. Assurances that a scholarship recipient will practice as a nursepractitioner or nurse midwife in an underserved area of the Commonwealthwithin two years following completion of training;
6. Designations that students in nurse practitioner specialties, includingnurse midwife, receive priority scholarships;
7. Methods for reimbursement to the Commonwealth by a recipient who fails tocomplete the educational program or who fails to honor the obligation toengage in practice as a nurse practitioner or nurse midwife for a period ofyears equal to the number of annual scholarships received;
8. Procedures for reimbursing any recipient who has repaid the Commonwealthfor part or all of any scholarship and who later fulfills the terms of hiscontract; and
9. Methods for reporting data related to the recipients of the scholarships.
C. Until such time as a fully accredited nurse midwife education program isestablished at any health science center in the Commonwealth, the Board maydesignate that attendance at an accredited program in a nearby state isacceptable for scholarship eligibility.
D. For purposes of this section, the term "underserved area" shall includethose medically underserved areas designated by the Board pursuant to §32.1-122.5 and health professional shortage areas designated in accordancewith the criteria established in 42 C.F.R. Part 5.
E. Any scholarship amounts repaid by recipients pursuant to subdivision B 7,and any interest thereon, shall be used only for the purposes of this sectionand shall not revert to the general fund.
(1993, cc. 197, 337; 2000, c. 926; 2001, c. 188.)