TSET Partnership for Rural Physician Placement Welcomes New Doctors Across Oklahoma  

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TSET Partnership for Rural Physician Placement Welcomes New Doctors Across Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 10, 2022) – The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and the Oklahoma Health Care Workforce Training Commission (HWTC) welcome nine doctors to the newest class of the Physician Loan Repayment Program recipients serving rural communities across the state.

The new physicians were placed in McAlester, Kingston, Talihina, Henryetta, Okemah, Muskogee, Ponca City, and Altus.

Physicians who participate in the program agree to work in a rural or underserved area of the state for up to four years and can receive up to $200,000 in student loan repayment assistance. Importantly, physicians who work in rural and underserved parts of the state bring vital access to health care – part of the core mission of HWTC and TSET’s constitutional mandate.

“Physicians provide lifesaving and preventative care to Oklahomans every day,” said Julie Bisbee, executive director of TSET. “The closer doctors are to the people they serve, the more likely they can prevent and reduce serious medical conditions from developing. TSET is proud to partner in this program that helps attract and retain doctors in rural areas and invests in the long-term health of Oklahomans.” 

Since 2013, TSET has worked with the Oklahoma Health Care Workforce Training Commission – formerly the Physician Manpower Training Commission – to financially support the placement of physicians in rural Oklahoma.

TSET provides 40% of the total funding for the loan repayment assistance for each TSET-sponsored physician. TSET provides the largest share of funding to attract public and private partners to the initiative. Public and private partners providing match include hospitals, cities, insurance providers, medical associations and banks.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with TSET and for their commitment to the Commission’s efforts to expand the availability of physicians and quality healthcare to rural Oklahoma,” said Janie Thompson, executive director of HWTC. “Thanks to this partnership, the Physician Loan Repayment Program has allowed rural communities the opportunity to decrease the financial burden of medical education debt and starting a new medical practice for new physicians in a rural community.”

Since mid-2022, the Physician Loan Repayment Program has added nine new physicians in eight separate communities. Additionally, in the past year, the program has graduated four physicians who began the program in 2018. TSET funding supports up to 42 physicians within the loan repayment program.

According to the American Medical Association, a physician in Oklahoma supports 11.7 jobs on average and generates $1.9 million in annual local economic activity.

Physician	Area of Practice	Local Partner	Community
Dustin Davis	Family Medicine	Choctaw Nation	McAlester
Lindsey LaTrelle Hoffman-French	Family Medicine	Kingston Clinic	Kingston
Eric Gillette	Family Medicine	Choctaw Nation	Talihina
Eric Mathis	Family Medicine	Hillcrest	Henryetta
Judd Miller	Internal Medicine	Okemah Creek Nation Regional Brain Institute	Okemah
John Powers	Family Medicine	St. Francis	Muskogee
Stephen Ross	Family Medicine	Alliance Health	Ponca City
James Stull	Family Medicine	Choctaw Nation Family Medicine Clinic	Talihina
Allissa White	Family Medicine	Jackson County Memorial Hospital	Altus

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The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, visit Oklahoma.gov/TSET.