August 2025 MDHHS Healthcare Workforce Division Newsletter

MI Behavioral Health Internship Stipend Program

The Michigan Behavioral Health Internship Stipend Program (MI-BHISP) aims to increase the number of qualified behavioral health professionals in Michigan by providing a stipend of up to $15,000 to eligible student interns. MI-BHISP stipends are intended for interns who are in the process of completing a bachelor or graduate level behavioral health degree program that leads to a behavioral health profession dedicated to serving children. Additional details regarding eligibility and program requirements can be found on the MI-BHISP website.

To date, the program has held two application rounds. Stipends have been provided to nearly 300 student interns, with over 40 participating colleges and universities and over 80 public behavioral health systems represented in their respective internships.

The third application round for the program opened on August 18, 2025 (8:00am) and will close on August 31, 2025 (11:59pm).

Those interested in applying should visit the MI-BHISP website starting August 18, 2025 at 8:00am to access the application link.

 

2025 National HPSA Updates: How to Request a HPSA Update or Rescore

Per federal regulations, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations, including Maternity Care Target Areas (MCTAs) scores, are required to be updated every three years. As part of the Shortage Designation Modernization Project, the next National Shortage Designation Update (NSDU) will be implemented on September 23, 2025.

The Workforce/Access & Grants Management Section functions as the State Primary Care Office (PCO). The MDHHS PCO must be contacted to request a shortage designation as the only entity that can submit a designation request to the federal government (HRSA) in Michigan. Requests are free and can be made by anyone in the community.

Important details about the 2025 NSDU process are below:

• In collaboration with partners, MI PCO is reaching out to sites to validate provider data and proactively submitting HPSA applications to update or replace HPSAs at risk of losing HPSA status or with lower HPSA scores.
• HPSA scores range on a scale of 0-25 for primary medical care and mental health, and 0-26 for dental health, with higher scores indicating greater need.
• HPSAs that no longer qualify for designation will be placed in proposed for withdrawal status and officially withdrawn with the Federal Register Notice (FRN) in July 2026 (unless reinstated or replaced with a new HPSA).

• Auto-HPSA facility designations are not at risk of losing HPSA status, but there might be some HPSA score changes.
• Per federal regulations, automatically designated facility HPSAs include:
• Federally Qualified Health Centers/Look-alike (FQHC/LAL).
• Indian Health Service, Tribal Clinic, and Urban Indian Health Clinic (ITU).
• CMS-certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) meeting National Health Service Corps (NHSC) site criteria.
• Auto-HPSA facilities can submit rescore requests through the HRSA BHW Auto-HPSA Portal using an “Auto-HPSA Points of Contact” option under the “Partners” tab.
• The final date to submit HPSA applications before the NSDU is on August 28, 2025. However, the PCO and Auto-HPSAs may submit requests any time after the national HPSA update, if needed.  

For assistance with a HPSA rescore request or for questions about your service area’s HPSA designation status, please contact the Michigan PCO at MDHHS-Shortage-Designations MDHHS-Shortage-Designations@michigan.gov.

You may also find current shortage designation data by county, facility, and/or address here: https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area.

Future newsletter editions will provide more information about the NSDU results, HPSA scores changes, and designation status updates.

 

Office of Nursing Programs Whitepaper

The ONP has recently announced the publication of their whitepaper, Transition to U.S. Practice: Navigating integration, challenges, and opportunities for internationally educated nurses in Michigan.

The paper was written by ONP staff and co-authored by Wanda Chukwu, DNP, MSN, MA, CNEcl, RN, American Nurses Association-Michigan and Meriam Caboral-Stevens, PhD, RN, NP, FNYAM, FAAN; Philippine Nurses Association of Michigan.

The paper can be viewed here in the Resources for Internationally Educated Nurses section of the ONP website.

 

Upcoming Opportunities & Other Updates

·        MI-BHISP Application Round #3 – 08/18/2025 – 08/31/2025.

·        National Shortage Designation Update (NSDU) Execution Window: September 11 - September 23, 2025.

·        Conrad 30/J1 Visa Waiver Application Cycle: September 1, 2025 - November 1, 2025.

 

Healthcare Workforce Division Staff

Staff Spotlight: Amber Myers, MPH Healthcare Workforce Division Director

Amber Myers is the Division Director of the Healthcare Workforce Division for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Ms. Myers oversees the development, implementation and coordination of crosscutting and innovative policies and programs that further the Department’s mission specifically related to recruiting and retaining a strong, diverse healthcare workforce. She is responsible for the direction and overall operation of both the Workforce/Access &

Grants Management Section and the Office of Nursing Programs. Previously, Ms. Myers served as the Section Manager of the Workforce/Access & Grants Management Section. In that role, she and her team enhanced healthcare access in underserved areas by conducting planning activities to identify community needs and administering provider recruitment and retention programs. Ms. Myers holds a master’s degree in public health from Ohio State University and has 15 years of experience at MDHHS.

 

Amber Myers, MPH- Division Director MyersA1@michigan.gov

Miguelina Carela Garcia, MPH- Workforce/Access & Grants Management Section Manager CarelaGarciaM@michigan.gov

Casey Klein, BS- ONP Section Manager kleinc7@michigan.gov

Sarah Jennings, DNP, MPA, RN, NEA-BC- ONP Senior Nurse Advisor jenningss2@michigan.gov

Kaylen Brooks, BA, BSN, RN- ONP Departmental Analyst brooksk22@michigan.gov

Brittany Brookshire, MPH- MSLRP Coordinator BrookshireB1@michigan.gov

Ninette Probyn- MSLRP ProbynN1@michigan.gov

Sophia Hubbell- NLRP, MSLRP HubbellS1@michigan.gov

Juliette Rousseau- Free Clinics & NLRP Program Coordinator RousseauJ@michigan.gov

Megan Linton, JD- MIOTA LRP Coordinator, NHSC Contact LintonM3@michigan.gov

Sarah Kleis, MA- Conrad 30/J1 Visa Program Coordinator KleisS1@michigan.gov

Reanna Kathawa- BHLRP Program Coordinator KathawaR@michigan.gov

Mattie Robinson, MS- BHLRP RobinsonM28@michigan.gov

Jilliann Betzer, LMSW- BHLRP, MI-BHISP BetzerJ@michigan.gov