$500K Funding Helps University of Montana Prepare for Health Care Careers

The University of Montana has received nearly $500,000 to help economically disadvantaged students get the education they need for careers in health care fields.

The funds were awarded to UM’s College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences by the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.

The funds will provide scholarships for graduate and professional degree students in the college’s three schools: the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, School of Social Work and Skaggs School of Pharmacy, which includes the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy Practice departments.

“This award allows us to help ensure that students, no matter what their economic background, get the education they need to get them on the road to successful careers in health care with less loan debt that needs to be repaid,” said Lori Morin, assistant dean for student affairs at the College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences.

UM’s pharmacy program has received more than $2 million over six years through the HRSA program. HRSA funding for the physical therapy program has been nearly $225,000 over five years. This year’s award is the first for the University’s social work program.

In an analysis of savings for the 2005 pharmacy graduating class, Morin noted that students, on average, received almost $9,000 in scholarship money from HRSA funds.

“This translates into even higher savings for students when the interest they would pay over the lifetime of loans is taken into account,” she said.

For more information about degrees offered by UM’s College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, go online to http://www.health.umt.edu.

http://news.umt.edu/index.asp?sec=1&too=100&eve=8&dat=7/6/2006&npa=1266