State Inventory of Rural Health Practice Incentives in the Western WICHE States

Attracting health, oral health, and behavioral health professionals to rural and underserved areas continues to be an enormous challenge. Lower salaries, high educational debt load, professional isolation, and urban-centric policy barriers in underserved and rural areas are deterrents for professionals. WICHE and its 15 member states want to develop a comprehensive strategy for the regional health care workforce to help recruit, train, and retain professionals to serve the rural areas of the West.