Healthcare workers at NYC Health + Hospitals have received $580,000 in grants to help them pay off student debt. The grants are on the condition the workers pledge three years of service to the health system.
The money focuses on behavioral health staff at the 11-hospital system, which provides about 60 percent of New York City's behavioral health services, the system said in a release shared with Becker's. Each of the 16 grants were worth between $30,000 and $50,000 per employee.
The money was made possible through an anonymous $1 million donation, meaning that a further $420,000 is available for additional grants. Applications are open until May 1 for those.
Early-career psychiatrists have on average $190,000 of medical school debt, psychiatric nurse practitioners have on average $56,000 of debt, social workers have on average $68,000 of debt and psychologists have on average $80,000 of debt, NYC Health + Hospitals said.