[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIPS ACT 1998

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I am very pleased to support the passage 
of S. 1754, the Health Professions Education Partnerships Act of 1998. 
This legislation reauthorizes the health care training programs 
contained in titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act and 
its enactment will improve health workforce quality, diversity, and the 
distribution of funds--while requiring greater accountability of both 
the grant recipients of federal funds and the agency that administers 
them. I am pleased to be an original co-sponsor of the Act.
  Senate bill 1754 reauthorizes and consolidates 37 categorical grant 
and contract authorities of title VII and VIII of the Public Health 
Service Act into 8 clusters to provide for the support of health 
professions training programs and related community-based educational 
partnerships. To preserve the integrity of the programs, 15 funding 
lines will continue. This legislation provides comprehensive, flexible, 
and effective authority for the support of health professions training 
programs and the related community-based educational partnerships.
  In my own State of Vermont, the students of the University of 
Vermont's College of Medicine have benefited from a number of these 
programs and scholarships, including those relating to family medicine 
and professional nurse and nurse practitioner training. The newest 
title VII program in Vermont is the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) 
which opened its first site in April 1997 in the Northeast Kingdom of 
Vermont. The AHEC will decentralize health professions education by 
having portions of the training provided in primary medical personnel 
shortage areas and by improving the coordination and use of existing 
health resources. Over the next two years, two additional sites are 
planned in other underserved areas of the State. These efforts have 
contributed to making Vermont a better place to obtain health care 
services and they have improved the quality of life for its residents.
  I want to thank Senator Frist and his excellent staff for their 
dedication and hard work in drafting the Health Professions Education 
Partnerships Act of 1998. The enactment of this act will improve the 
training of our nation's health workforce and, also, provide for 
greater accountability of the public funds used to support these 
educational programs.

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