§ 7–751.07. Program participation.

(a) As a condition of participation in the Program, selected applicants shall enter into a contract with the Director and a representative of the service obligation site agreeing to the following terms and conditions:

(1) Participants shall provide a minimum of 2 years with a maximum of 4 years services at a service obligation site. Any service beyond the 2 year minimum requirement is dependent upon the availability of funds for the Program.

(2)(A) Full-time participants shall provide service of at least 1,800 hours per year. On-call status shall not count toward the annual 1,800 hour requirement. Exceptions to the 1,800 hour annual requirement or the on-call provision of this subparagraph may be approved by the Director prior to placement.

(B) Part-time participants shall provide service of at least 900 hours per year. On-call status does not count toward the annual 900 hour requirement. Exceptions to the 900 hour annual requirement or the on-call provision of this subparagraph may be approved by the Director prior to placement.

(3) Participants agree to provide reasonable, usual, and customary health services without discrimination and regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

(4) No period of internship, residency, or other advanced clinical training may count toward satisfying a period of obligated service under this Program.

(5) Any participant who is found in breach of contract is deemed to have agreed, as a condition of contract, to all penalties as set forth in § 7-751.13.

(b) An existing contract may be renewed for one year at a time up to a maximum of 4 total years of service, as funds become available.

(c) The participant shall begin service no later than 12 months from entering into the contract. The effective start date of the obligated service is the date of employment or the date the Director signs the contract, whichever is later.

(d) Non-compete clauses are prohibited in all contracts for Program participation.

(Mar. 8, 2006, D.C. Law 16-71, § 8, 53 DCR 61; Mar. 3, 2010, D.C. Law 18-111, § 5111, 57 DCR 181; Mar. 10, 2023, D.C. Law 24-313, § 202(c), 70 DCR 600.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 7-751.09.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 18-111 rewrote subsec. (a)(2), which had read as follows: “(2) Participants shall provide full-time service of at least 40 hours per week for 45 weeks per year. The minimum 40-hour week must not be performed in less than 4 days per week, with no more than 12 hours of work performed in any 24 hour period. On-call status does not count toward the 40-hour week. Any exceptions to the on-call provision of this subsection must be approved by the Director prior to placement.”

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 202(c) of High Need Healthcare Career Scholarship and Health Professional Loan Repayment Program Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-468, July 6, 2022, 69 DCR 008390).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 5111 of Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Support Second Emergency Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-207, October 15, 2009, 56 DCR 8234).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 5111 of Fiscal Year Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-260, January 4, 2010, 57 DCR 345).

Temporary Legislation

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 202(c) of High Need Healthcare Career Scholarship and Health Professional Loan Repayment Program Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-184, Sept. 21, 2022, 0 DCR 0).

Short Title

Short title: Section 5110 of D.C. Law 18-111 provided that subtitle L of title V of the act may be cited as the “Health Professional Recruitment Program Amendment Act of 2009”.