25 U.S.C. § 1616o — University of South Dakota pilot program

(a) Creation. The Secretary may grant money to the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, called “USDSM” here, to create a pilot program on a South Dakota reservation at one or more service units. The program must address the chronic shortage of health workers in the Service’s Aberdeen Area. (b) Purposes. The program must (1) give USDSM and other medical-school students and residents direct clinical and practical experience at a service unit; (2) improve Indian health care by ensuring access to qualified professionals; and (3) give physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other allied health professionals serving Indians academic and scholarly opportunities by identifying and using the region’s academic and scholarly resources. (c) Structure. The program must (1) have an advisory board representing tribes and communities in the service area; and (2) be an extension of the USDSM campus. Qualified medical staff serving at the unit must directly supervise and teach participants, and those staff must be USDSM faculty. (d) Coordination. USDSM must coordinate the program with regional medical schools, nursing schools, tribal community colleges, and other health-professional schools. (e) Opportunities. Working with the Service, USDSM must develop additional professional opportunities on reservations to improve recruitment and retention of qualified health professionals in the Aberdeen Area.