The Community Training, Education, and Access for Medical Students (Community TEAMS) Act, H.R. 3885, introduced by Representatives Miller (R-WV), Veasey (D-TX), Graves (R-MO) and Carter (D-LA), establishes a new HRSA grant program for medical schools to increase clinical rotations through partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and other healthcare facilities located in medically underserved communities.

Osteopathic medical schools, along with many new allopathic schools, have embraced a community-based distributed training model that places students directly in the environments where they are most needed. Training in these settings exposes medical students to the healthcare challenges of rural and underserved populations and increases the likelihood they will remain in these communities after graduation. Still, more than three-quarters of medical schools report ongoing concerns about the availability of clinical training sites.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) represent critical venues for this training. Serving over 31 million patients across more than 14,000 sites, these facilities are well positioned to expand access to clinical education. However, despite their reach, 80 percent of physician training still occurs in academic medical centers. Evidence shows that students who train in underserved areas are nearly three times more likely to practice in underserved communities and four times more likely to practice primary care there, underscoring the urgent need to expand community-based training opportunities.

Tell Congress to support the Community TEAMS Act today!