At the recent Ohio Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative Workforce Learning Center meeting on May 31, Mandie Maxwell and Megan Johnson from the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) provided an update on Choose Ohio First Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) scholarships.
There have been 95 recipients of the PCMH medical scholarships; 52% have graduated, there is a 1% dropout rate, and a 7% default rate.
There have been 87 nursing scholars and the default rate for nursing scholars is 9%.
There will be a rule change to require that medical students complete one year of medical school and then apply for their scholarship for the second year. Applicants can now apply online. There are 14 medical scholarship spots open for this year. A total of 59 nurse practitioner scholars have graduated.
The General Assembly created the Choose Ohio First Program in 2007 to increase the number of Ohio residents completing postsecondary studies in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) education. The goal of the program is to advance the economic growth of each region of the state and to support the success of program participants.
In 2010, the 130th General Assembly established two new components of the Choose Ohio First program to focus on the health and well-being of Ohio residents. The new components added scholarships for medical students and advanced practice nurses committed to primary care in the PCMH model. These programs require participating scholars to serve in an Ohio medical practice that accepts Medicaid patients without restriction for not less than three years following completion of their training.