Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund
Kentucky, along with other states, recognized healthcare workforce shortages during the 2023 legislative session in part by establishing the Kentucky Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund, which is a public-private partnership to provide healthcare training scholarships for Kentucky resident students and incentives to reward performance and excellence among healthcare professional programs.
Key Elements
The fund, administered by CPE, is designed to improve financial support for students who enroll in targeted programs leading to healthcare credentials in areas demonstrating critical workforce need.
The fund rewards performance and excellence among Kentucky healthcare professional education and training programs.
The fund may accept donations, with all monies gifted or donated to the fund to be matched, dollar for dollar, by General Fund disbursements for scholarships and/or educational program incentives.
The fund will prioritize grants by geographic areas of Kentucky with the greatest workforce need and will strive to improve racial and ethnic diversity within healthcare fields.
The fund allows grantors to restrict funding for scholarships for qualified students who are Kentucky residents
Guiding Legislation and Documentation
- HB 200: The Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund
- Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund overview document
- KRS 164.0401 - Definitions for KRS 164.0401 to 164.0407
- KRS 164.0402 - Legislative intent -- Kentucky healthcare workforce investment fund -- Administrative regulations
- KRS 164.0403 - Healthcare training scholarships -- Partnership proposal requirements -- Partnership contract -- Scholarship contract -- Restrictions -- Recoupment -- Prohibitions.
- KRS 164.0404 - Healthcare program incentive -- Administrative regulations -- Incentive application process and requirements.
- 13 KAR 5:010 – Healthcare Training Scholarships
- 13 KAR 5:020 – Healthcare Program Incentives
Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund Implementation Plan
2024 Implementation Schedule
- Mar. 20: Steering Committee Meeting #1
- May 22: Steering Committee Meeting #2
- June 3: HWIF funding opportunities, priorities, submission form templates, and scoring rubrics are published on CPE website
- July 1-Aug. 15: Submission period for HWIF partnership proposals and incentive awards
- July 24: Steering Committee Meeting #3
- Aug. 16-Sept. 12: Evaluation period of HWIF partnership proposals and incentive awards
- Sept. 13: Award notices go out
HWIF Steering Committee Members
CPE Chair Madison Silvert appointed the members of the HWIF Steering Committee at their Nov. 17, 2023, meeting. Members will serve a one-year term beginning March 1, 2024.
- CPE Representative
- LaDonna Rogers - Committee Chair
- Healthcare Industry Representatives
- Dr. Cliff Maesaka - CEOc Chairman’s Circle/Board Chair of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky
- J.P. Hamm - Kentucky Hospital Association
- Dr. Michael Muscarella - Baptist Health – Paducah
- State Government Representatives
- Beth Brinly - KY Education & Labor Cabinet
- Dr. Vestena Robbins - KY Cabinet for Health & Family Services - Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
- Beth Shafer - KY Cabinet for Health & Family Services – Department of Public Health
- Postsecondary Education Representatives
- Amy Mitchell Cowley - University of Kentucky College of Medicine
- Dr. Kelli Selvage - Kentucky Community & Technical College
- Mason Dyer - Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges & Universities
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Healthcare Workforce Investment Fund?
The HWIF is a groundbreaking public/private partnership, created in Spring of 2023 by HB 200. The legislation shares responsibility between industry and government to carry out a dedicated mission - to cultivate a robust frontline healthcare workforce in Kentucky. Our core objectives are twofold: providing educational scholarships to students pursuing programs targeting critical workforce needs in healthcare professions and recognizing and rewarding excellence among Kentucky healthcare professional education and training programs.
Who is responsible for administering the funds?
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) is responsible for administering the funds. The Council will establish a steering committee for the purpose of advising on issues related to healthcare training scholarships, including determining funding allocations, defining partnership proposal criteria, and making awards. The steering committee is comprised of 10 members – healthcare industry (3), higher education institutions (3), government organization (3), and KY CPE (1).
Who is eligible for the funds?
In 13 KAR 5:010, an “eligible entity” means an entity that offers a healthcare program. As long the entity offers the program and the credential received upon completion of the program allows the graduate to be eligible for licensure (which often includes sitting for an exam), then it is eligible to partner with a healthcare provider in a proposal to receive scholarship funding.
How does the dollar-for-dollar match work?
The fund may accept gifts or donations restricted by a healthcare partner grantor with all monies gifted or donated to the fund to be matched, dollar for dollar, by General Fund disbursements for the establishment of scholarships and/or educational program incentives.
When will the Council begin accepting partnership proposals?
Applications for partnerships and incentive awards will open on July 1, 2024. The application will close on August 15, 2024 and all awards will be made by September 13, 2024.
How will funding priorities be determined?
Healthcare Training Scholarships
- Through statute, CPE is directed to evaluate and prioritize awarding funds to partnership proposals that plan to (1) address the specific needs of a historically underserved county, (2) improve racial and ethnic diversity within a specific designated healthcare credential, (3) reduce the workforce demand of a specific eligible healthcare credential that is determined to be among the highest in demand in the state, or (4) from a healthcare partner with fifty or fewer employees.
Healthcare Program Incentives
- Through statute, CPE is directed to evaluate and award incentive funds to programs based on (1) workforce demands and capacity for the credential, (2) if/how the program is meeting healthcare workforce needs in an underserved county, (3) the passage rate of graduates of the program on the healthcare credential examination, and (4) other relevant factors related to meeting community workforce needs as determined by CPE.
For more information about healthcare workforce initiatives, contact Michaela Mineer at michaela.mineer@ky.gov.
Last Updated: 2/6/2024