In the school committee, there was discussion of criteria for RHEP site selection. When RHEP was created, the statutory goal was to increase recruitment and retention in rural areas. HPSA and MUA were the primary state and federal criteria. The advisory and the Bureau for Public Health were given some discretion in selecting sites. However, the federal HPSA and MUA designations may not be as useful now as they were then. The RHEP program has evolved, and should consider new criteria.
Possible criteria surfaced from the discussion, but there was no discussion of the pros or cons of each of these, and no prioritization of the various criteria that could be used for site selection.
• Current listing (ie: do nothing) (This does not seem to be a viable option.)
• MUA / HPSA designations
• Quality of student rotations at the sight
• Sites serving vulnerable populations
• Areas with difficulty recruiting particular providers
• Sites away from the traditional university setting. (ie: those sites that provide the greatest diversity of learning experience for students)
• Sites with (or without) certain specialties
• Practice settings (ie: solo, private, or group)
One or more of these sets of criteria could be used in determining RHEP sites and focus.