Section 593.140  Selection Criteria

a)         Priority in the selection of applicants for funding shall be given to those projects that can demonstrate the greatest impact on availability of podiatric care for designated shortage areas or for population groups with special needs.  Such an impact shall be demonstrated in the following manner:

1)         applicants which are located in a designated shortage area or can demonstrate that a significant percentage of patients served at their existing clinic sites reside in designated shortage areas;

2)         applicants which have presented a plan to significantly increase the number of individuals residing in designated shortage areas who shall become patients at the proposed projects; and

3)         applicants which can demonstrate a significant number of patients to be seen at the proposed project will be members of a population group with special needs (See Section 590.130(c)(1)(B)).

b)         Applicants which can demonstrate the greatest level of residents' involvement in the proposed project shall receive priority consideration.

c)         Applicants which can demonstrate the proposed project meets an educational need not available or insufficient in scope at the main residency location shall receive priority consideration.

d)         Applicants which can demonstrate the lowest ratio of Podiatric Scholarship and Residency Act funds to total project cost shall receive priority consideration.

e)         Applicants which can demonstrate a commitment to training podiatric practice physicians to meet the health care needs of designated shortage areas or population groups with special needs shall receive priority consideration.  A commitment can be demonstrated in a number of ways, including:

1)         specific projects or activities targeted at population groups with special needs and/or populations residing in designated shortage areas, which were supported by sources other than Podiatric Scholarship and Residency Act funds;

2)         evidence of residency support, either financial or peer, for its graduates who have established practices in designated shortage areas; and

3)         higher percentages of residency graduates who have established practices in Illinois and in designated shortage areas.

f)         Preference shall be given for those projects meeting the following guidelines:

1)         those which are to be established at locations which exhibit potential for extending podiatric practice physician availability to designated shortage areas;

2)         those which are located away from communities in which medical schools are located; or

3)         those located in hospitals having affiliation agreements with medical schools located within the State.  (Section 15(b) of the Act)