HLS 16RS-2467 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 64
BY REPRESENTATIVE MONTOUCET
COMMENDATIONS: Commends the Louisiana State University Health New Orleans'
Rural Scholars Track program
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend the Rural Scholars Track program at the Louisiana State University (LSU)
3 Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
4 WHEREAS, as of the 2010 census, nearly 27% of Louisiana's population is rural;
5and
6 WHEREAS, 97% of Louisiana parishes contain areas that have been designated as
7health professional shortage areas; and
8 WHEREAS, as the major source of the state's physician work force, LSU Health
9Sciences Center New Orleans is committed to increasing the number of primary care
10physicians practicing in rural and medically underserved communities; and
11 WHEREAS, to help meet the state's physician needs, LSU Health Sciences Center
12New Orleans developed the Rural Scholars Track, which began accepting students in 2002;
13and
14 WHEREAS, The Rural Scholars Track is administered by the Department of Family
15Medicine, which is headed by Dr. Mary T. Coleman; and
16 WHEREAS, students who join the Rural Scholars Track can receive up to four years
17of tuition exemptions; and
18 WHEREAS, to be eligible for participation in the program, a student must agree to
19practice primary care medicine in a rural or medically underserved community upon
20completion of his or her residency training; and
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HR NO. 64
1 WHEREAS, admission to the program is open to interested students who have been
2accepted into the School of Medicine; and
3 WHEREAS, during their third and fourth years of study, student participants study
4in Lafayette at University Hospital & Clinics and spend one day each week with their rural
5preceptors, primary care physicians who practice medicine near their hometowns or their
6future practice locations; and
7 WHEREAS, to date, there have been eighty-four participants in the program; forty-
8three of whom are currently practicing primary care in rural Louisiana; and
9 WHEREAS, the Rural Scholars Track program at the LSU Health Sciences Center
10New Orleans ranks first in the nation in the number of graduates practicing medicine in rural
11areas.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
13Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the Rural Scholars Track program at the
14LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, as well as the faculty and staff of the Department
15of Family Medicine, for their contributions to the health of Louisiana citizens by increasing
16the number of primary care physicians practicing in rural and medically underserved areas
17of Louisiana.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
19to Dr. Mary Coleman and the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 64 Original 2016 Regular Session Montoucet
Commend the Rural Scholars Track program at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health
Sciences Center New Orleans.
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