Alaska's SHARP Program:
Providing Support-for-Service to Health Care Practitioners
The department is pleased to continue the SHARP Program — providing support-for-service to health care practitioners throughout Alaska.
Update of next SHARP clinician-application opportunities:
- SHARP-I: This is our traditional HRSA-state partnership option
There will NOT be a clinician-application opportunity during CY’2013
- This is due to the scheduling of federal HRSA’s grant opportunities for the States
- We do expect HRSA to issue its next RFP about January 2014, & we’ll know more then
- SHARP-II: This is our new wholly non-federal state-supported option (based on HB-78)
- There has been one clinician-solicitation window thus far (Feb-Mar’13)
- A second clinician-solicitation window will occur during late Spring-early summer
- The dates of the opening are yet to be established
- This next SHARP-II application opportunity will be open for 1.5-2.0 months, once announced
- When announced, that notice will be widely distributed, including via SHARP program’s home-page
Option I: Traditional SHARP
Currently, the application cycle for SHARP-I is now closed. Our next anticipated application-opening for SHARP-I will be next September (2013), dependent upon the next availability of HRSA grant funds. For more information, please visit our SHARP-I webpage.
Option II: New SHARP Opportunity
We are pleased to announce our next clinician & site application opportunity, which will greatly expands our “support-for-service” opportunity for Alaska’s healthcare practitioners. Now termed SHARP-II, this has been made possible by the passage of HB-78 this last spring in the 27th Legislature. SHARP-II is wholly resourced by non-federal funds, including State General Funds (via HB-78), and some employer-match. DHSS has completed required regulations and SHARP-II clinician and site applications are now available on this website.
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SHARP-II provides loan repayment or direct incentive for to up to an additional 90 healthcare practitioners, each with a 3-year service contract. Both full-time and half-time contract options are available. After an initial three years of service, those clinicians in good standing may gain the opportunity for another three-year contract (renewal).
- Tier-1: Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists
- Tier-2: Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, RN-Level Nurse, Physical Therapists, Clinical Psychologists, LCSWs, and Dental Hygienists
SHARP-II has certain stipulations, a key one being that holding a “concurrent service obligation” with virtually any other entity is specifically disallowed (e.g., NHSC, I.H.S., and so on). Another key stipulation is that each participating Site must contribute an “employer match” to its clinician’s support-for-service payment, although partial waiver of this may be possible in some circumstances. Further, all participating Sites must be within Alaska-designated healthcare service shortage areas (HSSAs). Sites must accept patients who receive Medicaid or Medicare, and the uninsured on a sliding fee basis. Under SHARP-II a significantly expanded range of facilities may become designated as eligible practice Sites.
Updates
Questions?
To request additional information about the SHARP Program, please fill out the SHARP Inquiry Form.
Robert Sewell, Program Manager
Alaska Division of Public Health
Section of Health Planning & Systems Development
P.O. Box 110610
Juneau, AK 99811-0610
Phone: (907) 465-4065
Email: robert.sewell@alaska.gov
