Governor Janet Mills announced two initiatives from her Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to attract and retain health care professionals in Maine.
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The first initiative, offered through the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), provides student loan repayment assistance to health care professionals in medicine, dentistry, behavioral health, and nursing education.
Under the initiative’s programs, health care professionals can apply for up to $75,000 in relief for qualifying student loan debt while nursing educators can receive up to $40,000.
To be eligible, nursing educators or health care professionals must be working in Maine or must commit to working in Maine for at least three years.
The Governor also announced that she is boosting funding by $2 million for FAME’s Doctors for Maine’s Future Scholarship, which awards up to $25,000 in annual scholarships to students enrolled in the Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Medical Center Maine Track Program and the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The infusion of funding into the program will allow FAME to immediately increase the number of scholarships back to the historical average of eight per year and maintain that level of assistance for five years longer than would have been possible without the funding.
“A strong, high-quality health care system is essential to the health of Maine people and the health of our economy. Health care provides meaningful, important work, and, as the pandemic has shown us, it’s work that’s more crucial than ever before. But for too many people, the cost of the education puts health care professions out of reach,†said Governor Mills.
“These scholarships and loan relief programs will bring more Maine people – especially young people – into the health care workforce and enable them to live and practice in communities across our state.â€
To see full eligibility information and apply for the student loan relief programs, visit FAME’s website. Applications are open now through September 1. To apply for the Doctors for Maine’s Future Program, students should contact their medical school. ■