Know that the SHARP-1 application period is now open: May 1st thru July 10th.

If you have interest or questions, you can call into scheduled teleconferences to learn about this SHARP-1 opportunity. These teleconferences are optional, and any interested party can call-in. In general, content repeats on the following dates.

Call 888-392-4560 then dial code 5818485#

o Friday 5/29: 11:00-12:00
o Friday 6/12: 11:00-12:00
o Friday 6/26: 11:00-12:00
o Friday 7/10: 11:00-12:00

For More Information
Please pose all individual inquires about this opportunity via email. The address to do so is sharp.inquiry@alaska.gov

All interested parties are asked to use the scheduled teleconferences listed above to have their questions addressed.

For more information about Alaska’s SHARP program, please review the SHARP website on and after 5/1/20 at the following web address: http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/healthplanning/pages/sharp

If you are a person with a disability who requires a special accommodation to participate in this process, please contact Robert Sewell, SHARP Program Director, at robert.sewell@alaska.gov or via phone 907-465-4065. Please do so no later than five days before the accommodation is needed to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

From DHSS:

Alaska DHSS Public Notice
Alaska’s SHARP Program — Providing Support-for-Service to Healthcare Clinicians

Submitted by: RG Sewell

Submitted: Friday 2/21/20

PUBLIC NOTICE on SHARP-1: Opportunity for Healthcare Practitioner Loan Repayment for State Fiscal Year 2020

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announces a new SHARP-1 loan repayment opportunity for selected healthcare practitioners in State Fiscal Year 2020. This is our standard SHARP applicant-solicitation.

Availability of Applications
The clinician application form and the employer application form for this solicitation will be available from Friday 5/1/20 through Friday 7/10/20 at 5:00 pm (AT). On 5/1/20 and thereafter, all instructions regarding how to receive and complete the SHARP application will be web-posted to http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/healthplanning/pages/sharp. Thereafter, during August 2020, Alaska’s SHARP Council will convene in publicly noticed meeting(s) to review and select from the resulting pool of eligible applicants.

SHARP-1 Employer (Site) Application
During this solicitation, we anticipate that many healthcare agencies will be found eligible; including private non-profit and public (government) healthcare sites, (for-profit entities are not eligible). Examples include, but are not limited to, community health centers, critical access hospitals, community mental health (behavioral health) clinics, tribal health entities, drug treatment facilities, long-term care facilities and others. For a site to be classified as eligible-to-apply, the site must at least either have the designation of, or be within, a federal Health Professions Shortage Area (HPSA). Any interested party can learn whether any specific locality and/or facility has a HPSA designation by going to the following website: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area/hpsa-find
o SHARP-1 site application forms will be available for all employer applicants on SHARP website from 5/1/20 to 7/10/20.
o All employer applicants must sign and endorse a provided attestation page, which will also be on the SHARP website.
o The SHARP website address is http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/healthplanning/pages/sharp
o All agencies interested in participation must apply during this application cycle, regardless of whether such agencies have applied in the past.

SHARP-1 Practitioner (Clinician) Application
Eligible SHARP-1 practitioner occupations are grouped into two tiers. Tier-1 includes Doctor of Allopathic Medicine (M.D.); Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.); Dentist (D.D.S. or D.M.D); and Pharmacist. Tier-2 includes: Clinical or Counseling Psychologist (Ph.D. or Psy.D.); Licensed Clinical Social Worker; Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); Marriage and Family Therapist; Nurse Midwife; Nurse Practitioner; Physician Assistant; Registered Clinical Dental Hygienist; and Registered Nurse (R.N.).
o Practitioner application forms will be available via the internet at http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/healthplanning/pages/sharp
o Application forms will be available on that website from 5/1/20 through 7/10/20 at 5:00 pm.
o The date of submission (within the eligible range) is not relevant in the prioritization process.
o SHARP does not use a “first come, first served” approach for either the review and/or selection of applicants.

Service Contract Benefit
Education loan-debt repayment support is paid in an amount of up to the maximum annual benefit for the practitioner. Those maximum annual amounts are: Tier-1: $35,000 – $47,000, and Tier-2: $20,000 – $27,000, with the maximum amounts (within each Tier) dependent upon four factors: (a) occupation type (Tier-1 or Tier-2); (b) (1) participation size (full-time or half-time); (c) amount of eligible loan-debt owed (i.e. program only pays up to “cap amount” per year); and (d) Position Type: Regular v. Very Hard-to-Fill.
In addition to the payment amount, the benefit also includes other features. All SHARP education loan repayments are exempt from federal personal income tax according to federal regulation. SHARP’s support-for-service awards are strictly in addition to (and are not a supplanting of) the clinician’s regular employer-provided wage and benefit. Once a practitioner has received and completed an initial two-year contract award, and remains in good standing, he/she is welcome to apply again. However, all applications occur through the SHARP program’s standard competitive process. Receiving an initial contract does not automatically ensure receipt of a second contract.

No-Cost Application
SHARP does not charge either the clinician or the employer for submitting an application, and, no other cost(s) are anticipated to result from this solicitation’s application process.

New Opportunities for Practitioner Loan Repayment in SFY 2020
What is SHARP?
SHARP is designed to help ensure that residents throughout the state, including recipients of medical assistance or Medicare, and the uninsured, experience improved access to healthcare services. SHARP is intended to help address the worsening shortage of certain healthcare professionals in the state by increasing the number and improving the distribution of healthcare professionals who provide direct patient care. The goal of Alaska’s SHARP program is to increase recruitment and retention of healthcare practitioners to serve in designated healthcare service shortage areas in exchange for specified support-for-service payments (e.g. education loan repayment). SHARP selects all practitioner-participants only using the program’s standard competitive process. For selection, a SHARP Council’s recommendation is required. More information about Alaska’s SHARP Program is available at: http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/healthplanning/pages/sharp

What is SHARP-1?
SHARP-1 is for those licensed practitioners who provide direct patient care (medical, dental or behavioral health) typically in primary care or related settings. The program has now successfully applied for the federal HRSA-SLRP grant opportunity four times. In these, each participating clinician signs a two-year service contract (memorandum of agreement) stating his/her commitment to serve in an identified high-needs area or facility. SHARP-1 is operated by DHSS, in accordance with the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) guidelines. Selection of SHARP candidates is based on funding availability and SHARP Council’s assessment of prioritized community, facility and population needs.