Kaine Introduces Legislation to Support the Education of Future Primary Care Providers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Primary Care Team Education Centers Act, legislation to support the education and clinical training of the next generation of primary care professionals.

"Access to quality and affordable primary care is critical to the long-term health and well-being of our communities," said Kaine. "But workforce shortages create barriers in accessing that care and exacerbate existing disparities in vulnerable communities. I'm proud to introduce this legislation to help address the underlying causes of health workforce shortages by investing in training future primary care providers."

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) estimates there will be a shortage of 70,610 primary care physicians by 2038. The Teaching Health Center program is a proven model that can help address primary care workforce shortages by supporting training in primary care at federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and other community-based patient care centers. This bill builds on the successes of the Teaching Health Center program to train the next generation of primary care providers in other health care workforce areas not addressed by the existing model.

The Primary Care Team Education Centers Act would address primary care provider shortages by:

• Establishing and expanding primary care team education centers to train new health professionals;
• Developing or enhancing partnerships with institutions of higher education and health care organizations to address clinical faculty, clinical site, and clinical preceptor shortages for health care professionals;
• Supporting health professional student training in primary care;
• Integrating and expanding the role of health professionals involved in primary care;
• Promoting career advancement for health professionals employed by primary care team education centers to improve retention; and
• Prioritizing grants that address training in health professional shortages and those that support preceptor advancement.

"Healthcare professionals are the backbone of rural communities, not just for critical healthcare, but for the rural economy. Rural communities cannot thrive without access to healthcare. An increase in training programs is essential for addressing workforce shortages and improving the healthcare infrastructure," said Beth O'Connor, Executive Director, Virginia Rural Health Association.

"The National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), led by President Sheldon D. Fields, commend Senator Kaine for introducing the Primary Care Team Education Centers Act. We endorse any comprehensive and innovative efforts to address the nursing shortage, and expand access to high-quality training opportunities. Advancing these investments is essential to strengthening the workforce while promoting health equity and improving access to care for underserved communities," National Black Nurses Association Health Policy Chair Dr. Vivienne Pierce McDaniel.

"As PA programs across the country continue to face challenges in obtaining clinical rotations for students, the Primary Care Team Education Centers Act represents an innovative solution to ensuring high-quality, interprofessional training for our future health workforce. PAEA applauds Senator Kaine's leadership on this issue and is proud to endorse the legislation," said Sara Fletcher, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, PA Education Association.

"More and more, healthcare has become a team sport with players from different disciplines working together to improve the health of patients. As we move toward this interdisciplinary model, we need a robust healthcare workforce that's exposed, early on, to the modern team-based approach," said Chad Worz, PharmD, chief executive of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP.) "ASCP applauds Senator Kaine for introducing this greatly needed legislation. We look forward to partnering with him and the co-sponsors to enact this important healthcare workforce pipeline legislation."

"The Primary Care Team Education Centers Act expands team-based primary care training sites and supports preceptors so more students can train in communities with the greatest workforce needs. By strengthening clinical teaching capacity, it also helps recruit and retain the primary care workforce those communities rely on," said Carey Goryl, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment.

"The National League for Nursing applauds Senator Kaine for his leadership in proposing this strategy to strengthen the primary care workforce," said National League for Nursing President and CEO Dr. Beverly Malone. "The Primary Care Team Education Center Act offers a creative approach to addressing our nation's shortages of nurses and nursing faculty, supporting collaboration between our nursing education programs and centers that can serve as critically needed clinical training sites focused on improving community-based care."

This bill is supported by National Black Nurses Association, Virginia Rural Health Association, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, American Dental Association, National Association of Rural Health Clinics, National Association of School Nurses, PA Education Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, National League for Nursing, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment, National Rural Health Association, Advocates for Community Health, Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging, International Medical Graduates Academy, Medicos Unidos Venezuela, Virginia Health Care Association, Virginia Center for Assisted Living, American Health Care Association, National Center for Assisted Living, Ballad Health, Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, and Virginia Community Healthcare Association.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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