This month, Administrator Tom Engels traveled to Wisconsin and Colorado to speak with key stakeholders and connect with grantees and community partners, with the goal of expanding access to care and improving health outcomes across primary care, behavioral health services, and rural health.

In Eau Claire, Wis., Administrator Engels joined Secretary Kennedy and other HHS leaders at Perrigo Company – a self-care product and infant formula manufacturing company – and NorthLakes Community Clinic Eau Claire for a roundtable discussion about behavioral health and nutrition services. In Milwaukee, he spoke with legislators and policymakers at the National Conference of State Legislatures and visited programs supporting behavioral health services, substance use disorder treatment and recovery, and HIV care.

In Denver, Administrator Engels spoke about HRSA’s commitment to modernizing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network at the Opening Ceremony of the Transplant Games of America. He also toured a HRSA-funded health center, a Black Lung Clinic Program site, and a health center serving individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

These visits highlighted the impact of HRSA-funded programs in strengthening the health workforce, expanding access to high-quality care, and supporting healthier communities across the country.

The Faculty Loan Repayment Program (FLRP) is accepting applications now through July 9. FLRP provides funding to help health professions faculty pay down up to $40,000 of their student loan debt. In return, each awardee must serve for two years as a full or part-time faculty member at an eligible health professions school.

On June 18, HRSA issued a Dear Colleague Letter encouraging HRSA-supported workforce training programs to strengthen nutrition education across their curricula to better prepare future health professionals to incorporate nutrition into patient care.

Strengthening nutrition education for health professionals can help improve prevention, support earlier intervention, and promote better health outcomes for the communities HRSA serves. 

HRSA, the National Marrow Donor Program, and partners across the transplant community celebrated a historic milestone: 150,000 blood stem cell transplants facilitated through the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program.  

The celebration was a reminder of the lives transformed through the generosity of donors and the impact of a successful public-private partnership dedicated to bringing life-saving care to patients nationwide.

As Administrator Tom Engels noted, "This milestone reflects the accountability born out of a true and successful public-private partnership, built from a trusted system and carried forward by an unwavering dedication to doing this work with integrity every single time, so that every donated product reaches its life-saving potential.”