MMA Foundation helps Minnesota community
MINNEAPOLIS, December 17, 2009 - The MMA Foundation recently helped a physician in Walker, Minnesota secure $40,000 towards paying off her student loans. High student loan debt is one of the factors that contributes to physician shortages in rural communities.
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| Michele Thieman, M.D. practices family medicine in Walker, MN, a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). |
The MMA Foundation and the Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care are pleased to announce that Michele Thieman, M.D. has been selected as a participating physician in the Minnesota State Loan Repayment Program. The MMA Foundation gave the Minnesota State Loan Repayment Program a grant of $20,000 so that it could secure an additional $20,000 in matching federal economic stimulus funds on behalf of Thieman, who is a practicing physician in Walker, Minnesota. In exchange for the assistance, Thieman must work for a minimum of two years at the Innovis Clinic in Walker.
One of the goals of the MMA Foundation and the Minnesota State Loan Repayment Program is to bring physicians to practice in a health professional shortage areas, such as Walker. However, the loan repayment program is chronically underfunded and could not have secured the opportunity for federal matching dollars without the MMA Foundation’s grant.
“This is a good example of the type of giving the foundation likes to pursue,” said Dennis Kelly, MMA Foundation director of development. “We were able to leverage our resources to secure additional federal dollars, while also helping a local physician and a rural community that needed a doctor.”
The MMA Foundation’s mission includes working to improve access to high-quality health care in Minnesota’s rural and urban areas.
Thieman grew up in Colorado, the daughter of a primary care physician. She was always interested in practicing Family Medicine in a small community and when the opportunity arose, she applied and was accepted at the University of Minnesota Medical School, which she graduated from in 2004.
In 2009, she got the opportunity to take over the Walker Clinic, when the previous physician left. For now, she is the only physician in the clinic, but next year, another physician will join the clinic on a part-time basis.
Thieman said she feels a sense of relief that her student debt is now “one less thing to worry about.”
She also said she knows that her patients appreciate the care they receive from her, but it’s good to know that others see her work in Walker as important, too.
The MMA Foundation relies on charitable contributions for its support of the State Loan Repayment Program, medical school scholarships and all of its activities. To make a contribution or to learn more about the MMA Foundation, visit www.mmafoundation.org or contact the foundation by email at dkelly@mnmed.org or by phone, 612/362-3767.