Final Minimum Percentages for ``High Rate'' and ``Significant Increase in the Rate'' for Implementation of the General Statutory Funding Preference for Grants for Podiatric Primary Care Residency Training Programs

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

Final Minimum Percentages for ``High Rate'' and ``Significant

Increase in the Rate'' for Implementation of the General Statutory

Funding Preference for Grants for Podiatric Primary Care Residency

Training Programs

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces

the final minimum percentages for ``high rate'' and ``significant

increase in the rate'' for fiscal year (FY) 1995 Grants for Podiatric

Primary Care Residency Training Programs under the authority of section

751, title VII of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the

Health Professions Education Extension Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102-

408, dated October 13, 1992.

Purpose

Section 751 authorizes the award of grants for the purpose of

planning and implementing projects in primary care training for

podiatric physicians in approved or provisionally approved residency

programs which shall provide financial assistance in the form of

traineeships to residents who participate in such projects and who plan

to specialize in primary care.

Eligibility

Eligible entities for this program are schools of podiatric

medicine and public and nonprofit private hospitals. As noted above,

the authorizing legislation limits eligibility to residency programs

that are approved or provisionally approved. The Council on Podiatric

Medical Education (CPME), the recognized accrediting body for podiatric

medicine, uses the term ``candidate status'' in lieu of ``provisional

approval.'' For the purposes of this program ``candidate status'' will

be accepted as meeting the statutory requirement for ``provisional

approval.''

General Statutory Funding Preference

As provided in section 791(a) of the PHS Act, preference will be

given to qualified applicants that:

(1) have a high rate for placing graduates in practice settings

having the principal focus of serving residents of medically

underserved communities; or

(2) have achieved, during the 2-year period preceding the fiscal

year for which an award is sought, a significant increase in the rate

of placing graduates in such settings.

This preference will only be applied to applications that rank

above the 20th percentile of proposals recommended for approval by the

peer review group.

The minimum percentages for ``high rate'' and ``significant

increase in the rate'' for the implementation of the general statutory

funding preference were proposed for public comment in the Federal

Register on December 13, 1994 at 59 FR 64208. No comments were received

during the 30-day comment period. Therefore, the minimum percentages

for ``high rate'' and ``significant increase in the rate'' for the

implementation of the general statutory funding preference will be

retained as proposed.

Final Minimum Percentages for ``High Rate'' and ``Significant Increase

in the Rate'' for the Implementation of the General Statutory Funding

Preference

``High rate'' is defined as a minimum of 25 percent of the combined

Podiatric Primary Care Residency graduates in academic years 1991-92,

1992-93 and 1993-94, who spend at least 50 percent of their worktime in

clinical practice in medically underserved communities.

``Significant increase in the rate'' means that, between academic

years 1992-93 and 1993-94, the rate of placing graduates in medically

underserved communities has increased by at least 50 percent and that

not less than 15 percent of graduates from the most recent year are

working in medically underserved communities.

Additional Information

Requests for technical or programmatic information should be

directed to: Ms. Martha Evans, Division of Medicine, Bureau of Health

Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, Parklawn

Building, Room 9A-20, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857,

Telephone (301) 443-3614, FAX (301) 443-8890.

This program, Grants for Podiatric Primary Care Residency Training

Programs, is listed at 93.181 in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance. It is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order

12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs (as implemented

through 45 CFR part 100). This program is not subject to the Public

Health System Reporting Requirements.

Dated: April 7, 1995.

Ciro V. Sumaya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95-9284 Filed 4-13-95; 8:45 am]

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