§ 295. General provisions
(a)
In general
The Secretary may award grants or contracts to eligible entities to increase the number of individuals in the public health workforce, to enhance the quality of such workforce, and to enhance the ability of the workforce to meet national, State, and local health care needs.
(b)
Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a grant or contract under subsection (a) of this section an entity shall—
(c)
Preference
In awarding grants or contracts under this section the Secretary may grant a preference to entities—
(d)
Activities
Amounts provided under a grant or contract awarded under this section may be used for—
(5)
to meet the costs of projects—
(A)
to plan and develop new residency training programs and to maintain or improve existing residency training programs in preventive medicine and dental public health, that have available full-time faculty members with training and experience in the fields of preventive medicine and dental public health; and
(e)
Traineeships
(1)
In general
With respect to amounts used under this section for the training of health professionals, such training programs shall be designed to—
(B)
increase the relevance of public health academic preparation to public health practice in the future;
(2)
Severe shortage disciplines
Amounts provided under grants or contracts under this section may be used for the operation of programs designed to award traineeships to students in accredited schools of public health who enter educational programs in fields where there is a severe shortage of public health professionals, including epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, toxicology, public health nursing, nutrition, preventive medicine, maternal and child health, and behavioral and mental health professions.