Delaware Announces Rural Health Funding: Education Awards and Housing Grants to Recruit Physicians for Kent and Sussex Counties
The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced in New Castle on October 14 that funding through the state's Rural Health Transformation Program will help recruit and retain physicians serving rural communities in Kent and Sussex counties. The funding supports two programs — educational awards for eligible medical students and housing and relocation assistance for physicians in residency training — with recipients committing to five years of practice in rural Delaware.
The Delaware Health Care Commission has entered an agreement with Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College to provide two $70,000 educational awards in the first year, a $140,000 investment. DHSS has also budgeted about $1.24 million for housing and relocation awards for graduate medical education physicians at Bayhealth, Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare, Nemours and TidalHealth, expected to support 61 awards averaging about $20,000 each.
Eligible applicants include third- and fourth-year medical students who complete at least one clinical rotation in Delaware, future students at the state's new medical school expected to open in 2028, and residents and fellows who rotate in Delaware's rural communities. DHSS Secretary Christen Linke Young said a strong health care workforce is essential to care close to home.
Source: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services releases
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 特拉华州议会厅（多佛），Famartin 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
