Schmitz appointed to three-year National Advisory Council term for National Health Service Corps

GRAND FORKS, N.D.—Professor and Chair of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) Department of Family & Community Medicine David Schmitz, MD, has been named to the National Health Service Corps’s (NHSC) National Advisory Council. The appointment is for a three-year term.

The NHSC looks to address America’s shortage of primary care providers by awarding scholarships and offering loan repayment services to providers in eligible disciplines in exchange for their service to underserved regions of the country. This shortage is especially acute in rural areas of the United States, whose residents often have limited access to health care.

“This appointment will be a great opportunity to serve North Dakota in a national capacity regarding workforce allocation,” noted Dr. Schmitz, who came to the SMHS in 2017 after years of practicing rural medicine in Idaho. “The NHSC scholarship and loan repayment programs help provide services to some of the most underserved and vulnerable populations in the U.S., which certainly include some parts of North Dakota.”

Schmitz was nominated by both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Rural Health Association for consideration for appointment. He is board-certified in Family Medicine and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is recognized across the United States for his rural medicine scholarship and advocacy.

Tasked with advising the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Advisory Council on the NHSC is a group of health care providers and administrators experienced in working with communities facing a shortage of primary care professionals. The group has been strengthening and growing the country’s primary care workforce since 1972.

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Brian James Schill
Assistant Director, Office of Alumni & Community Relations
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
701.777.2733 direct | 701.777.4305 office
brian.schill@med.und.edu  |  med.und.edu