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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made $7.6 million available to aid states in their efforts to recruit health care professionals to underserved areas, the Illinois Pantagraph reports. The grants are part of $500 million allotted to the Health Resources and Services Administration to address workforce shortages and promote diversity in health professions. Specifically, 45 grants of $1.8 million each will be distributed under the State Primary Care Office program to help recruit clinicians to the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). The grants will go toward loan repayment for primary care medical, dental and mental health clinicians who agree to practice for two years in NHSC sites that treat underserved and uninsured patients. Meanwhile, 18 grants of $5.8 million each will be provided under the State Loan Repayment Program, which encourages primary care providers to practice in health professional shortage locations in their state. Health care workers who receive these grants must commit to practicing for a minimum of two years in return for full student loan repayment. According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, "these funds will help place full-time primary care health professional in shortage areas and help hundreds of thousands of Americans get primary care they might otherwise receive" (Pantagraph, 10/1/09; HHS release).