2019-22166. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program; Information Collection Request Title: Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, ...

AGENCY:

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the ICR.

DATES:

Comments on this ICR should be received no later than December 9, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments to [e-mail] or mail the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, Room 14N136B, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and draft instruments, email [e-mail] or call Lisa Wright-Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

When submitting comments or requesting information, please include the ICR title for reference.

Information Collection Request Title: Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program OMB No. 0915-0140—Revision

Abstract: The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program (Nurse Corps LRP) assists in the recruitment and retention of professional Registered Nurses (RNs) by decreasing the financial barriers associated with pursuing a nursing education. RNs in this instance include advanced practice RNs (e.g., nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, and clinical nurse specialists) dedicated to working at eligible health care facilities with a critical shortage of nurses (i.e., a Critical Shortage Facility) or working as nurse faculty in eligible, accredited schools of nursing. The Nurse Corps LRP provides loan repayment assistance to these nurses to repay a portion of their qualifying educational loans in exchange for full-time service at a public or private nonprofit Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) or in an eligible, accredited school of nursing.

Need and Proposed Use of the Information: This information collection is used by the Nurse Corps program to make award decisions about Nurse Corps LRP applicants and to monitor a participant's compliance with the program's service requirements. Individuals must submit an application in order to participate in the program. The application asks for personal, professional, educational, and financial information required to determine the applicant's eligibility to participate in the Nurse Corps LRP.

This revised information collection request includes a new form and updates to existing forms for the Nurse Corps LRP in order to expand the service options for awarded participants, promote the use of telehealth for delivering care throughout the nation especially in rural areas, and to reduce the application burden on respondents.

New Form #1—Applicants will be asked to submit a Disadvantaged Background Form. This new form asks the applicant's site Point of Contact to certify whether the applicant is from a disadvantaged background. The form provides eligibility criteria for the determination.

Updated Form #1—The Participant Semi-Annual Employment Verification Form will be updated to include additional information about the participant's service including information about telehealth services and whether they work at multiple CSF sites. Telehealth helps expand the reach of providers especially in rural areas where medical service sites are more remote. The information collected will assist Program with determining the impact and utilization of telehealth services in various health care settings which will be used to inform our telehealth policies. Enabling multiple CSF site service will also allow greater flexibility for providers who rotate or split time between multiple sites which benefits both the participants and the underserved communities—especially in our Federally Qualified Health Centers which support many of our Nurse Corps Nurse Practitioners.

Updated Form #2—The Nurse Corps LRP application will include questions for applicants to provide information regarding telehealth services, multiple CSF sites, and verification of base salary to determine the debt to salary ratio used to rank applicants for award consideration. The application will also be updated to identify applicants eligible for Nurse Corps LRP psychiatric nurse practitioner funding.

Likely Respondents: Professional RNs or advanced practice RNs who are interested in participating in the Nurse Corps LRP and official representatives at their service sites.

Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide the information requested. This includes the time needed to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; to train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and review the collection of information and to transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below.

Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours: The estimates of reporting burden for Applications are as follows;

Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total responses	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden hours
Nurse Corps LRP Application *	7,100	1	7,100	2.00	14,200
Authorization to Release Information Form **	7,100	1	7,100	.10	710
Employment Verification Form **	7,100	1	7,100	.10	710
Disadvantaged Background Form	450	1	450	.20	90
Confirmation of Interest Form	500	1	500	.20	100
Total for Applicants	22,250		22,250		15,810
* The burden hours associated with this instrument account for both new and continuation applications. Additional (uploaded) supporting documentation is included as part of this instrument are reflected in the burden hours.
** The same respondents are completing these instruments.

The estimates of reporting for Participants are as follows:

Form name	Number of respondents	Number of responses per respondent	Total responses	Average burden per response (in hours)	Total burden hours
Participant Semi-Annual In Service Verification Form	500	2	1,000	.50	500
Nurse Corps CSF Verification Form	500	1	500	.10	50
Nurse Corps Nurse Faculty Employment Verification Form	450	1	450	.20	90
Total for Participants	1,450		1,950		640
Total for Applicants and Participants	23,700		24,200		16,450 *
* The total burden hour estimate is a combination of burden hours for both applicants and participants. This revision adds an additional form (the Disadvantaged Background Form).

HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and utility of the proposed information collection for the proper performance of the agency's functions, (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden, (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology to minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,

Director, Executive Secretariat.