Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73not60

§294e Allied Health and Other Disciplines

Title 42 › Chapter 6A— PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter V— HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION › Part D— Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages › § 294e

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary may give grants or contracts to help pay for programs that train more allied health workers. The money can be used to start or grow training programs, especially where there are shortages or big needs like care for older adults or maternal and child health. That includes fast training for people who already have health-related bachelor’s degrees, community programs that link schools to rural clinics, career advancement for current workers, and more clinical training sites in underserved or rural areas. Funds can also pay to create new curricula on prevention, geriatrics, long-term and home care, and ethics; build interdisciplinary geriatric and rehab training; run demonstration centers that link practice, teaching, and research; and give traineeships or scholarships to students who plan to work in shortage fields and agree to serve in underserved communities. The grants may support graduate programs in behavioral and mental health, podiatric residency projects for primary care with traineeships, chiropractor‑physician spine care projects, and more opportunities in physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, audiology, and speech‑language pathology for disadvantaged or underrepresented people.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §294e

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary may make grants or contracts under this section to help entities fund activities of the type described in subsection (b).
(b)Activities of the type described in this subsection include the following:
(1)Assisting entities in meeting the costs associated with expanding or establishing programs that will increase the number of individuals trained in allied health professions. Programs and activities funded under this paragraph may include—
(A)those that expand enrollments in allied health professions with the greatest shortages or whose services are most needed by geriatric populations or for maternal and child health;
(B)those that provide rapid transition training programs in allied health fields to individuals who have baccalaureate degrees in health-related sciences;
(C)those that establish community-based allied health training programs that link academic centers to rural clinical settings;
(D)those that provide career advancement training for practicing allied health professionals;
(E)those that expand or establish clinical training sites for allied health professionals in medically underserved or rural communities in order to increase the number of individuals trained;
(F)those that develop curriculum that will emphasize knowledge and practice in the areas of prevention and health promotion, geriatrics, long-term care, home health and hospice care, and ethics;
(G)those that expand or establish interdisciplinary training programs that promote the effectiveness of allied health practitioners in geriatric assessment and the rehabilitation of the elderly;
(H)those that expand or establish demonstration centers to emphasize innovative models to link allied health clinical practice, education, and research;
(I)those that provide financial assistance (in the form of traineeships) to students who are participants in any such program; and
(i)who plan to pursue a career in an allied health field that has a demonstrated personnel shortage; and
(ii)who agree upon completion of the training program to practice in a medically underserved community;
(J)those to meet the costs of projects to plan, develop, and operate or maintain graduate programs in behavioral and mental health practice.
(2)Planning and implementing projects in preventive and primary care training for podiatric physicians in approved or provisionally approved residency programs that shall provide financial assistance in the form of traineeships to residents who participate in such projects and who plan to specialize in primary care.
(3)Carrying out demonstration projects in which chiropractors and physicians collaborate to identify and provide effective treatment for spinal and lower-back conditions.
(4)Increasing educational opportunities in physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology professions, which may include offering scholarships or stipends and carrying out other activities to improve retention, for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds or individuals who are underrepresented in such professions.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 294e, act
July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title VII, § 767, as added Pub. L. 102–408, title I, § 102, Oct. 13, 1992, 106 Stat. 2048, authorized grants and contracts for establishment of programs to increase number of allied health professionals, prior to the general amendment of this part by Pub. L. 105–392. Another prior section 294e, act
July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title VII, § 732, as added Oct. 12, 1976, Pub. L. 94–484, title IV, § 401(b)(3), 90 Stat. 2260; amended Aug. 1, 1977, Pub. L. 95–83, title III, § 307(c)(3), (4), 91 Stat. 390; Dec. 19, 1977, Pub. L. 95–215, § 4(e)(8), (9), 91 Stat. 1506; Aug. 13, 1981, Pub. L. 97–35, title XXVII, § 2729, 95 Stat. 918; Oct. 22, 1985, Pub. L. 99–129, title II, § 208(e), 99 Stat. 531; Nov. 4, 1988, Pub. L. 100–607, title VI, § 602(g), 102 Stat. 3123, related to certificates of loan insurance, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 102–408. See section 292e of this title. Another prior section 294e, act
July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title VII, § 744, formerly § 745, as added Sept. 24, 1963, Pub. L. 88–129, § 2(b), 77 Stat. 173; amended Nov. 18, 1971, Pub. L. 92–157, title I, § 105(f)(2), 85 Stat. 451; renumbered § 744, Oct. 12, 1976, Pub. L. 94–484, title IV, § 406(a)(2), 90 Stat. 2268, which related to administrative provisions, was transferred to section 294q of this title.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 117–328 added par. (4). 2020—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 116–136 substituted “geriatric populations or for maternal and child health” for “the elderly”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 294e

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60