For purposes of this subchapter:

(1)(A) The terms “school of medicine”, “school of dentistry”, “school of osteopathic medicine”, “school of pharmacy”, “school of optometry”, “school of podiatric medicine”, “school of veterinary medicine”, “school of public health”, and “school of chiropractic” mean an accredited public or nonprofit private school in a State that provides training leading, respectively, to a degree of doctor of medicine, a degree of doctor of dentistry or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of osteopathy, a degree of bachelor of science in pharmacy or an equivalent degree or a degree of doctor of pharmacy or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of optometry or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of podiatric medicine or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine or an equivalent degree, a graduate degree in public health or an equivalent degree, and a degree of doctor of chiropractic or an equivalent degree, and including advanced training related to such training provided by any such school.

(B) The terms “graduate program in health administration” and “graduate program in clinical psychology” mean an accredited graduate program in a public or nonprofit private institution in a State that provides training leading, respectively, to a graduate degree in health administration or an equivalent degree and a doctoral degree in clinical psychology or an equivalent degree.

(C) The terms “graduate program in clinical social work” and “graduate program in marriage and family therapy” and “graduate program in professional counseling” mean an accredited graduate program in a public or nonprofit private institution in a State that provides training, respectively, in a concentration in health or mental health care leading to a graduate degree in social work and a concentration leading to a graduate degree in marriage and family therapy and a concentration leading to a graduate degree in counseling.

(D) The term “graduate program in behavioral health and mental health practice” means a graduate program in clinical psychology, behavioral health and mental health practice, clinical social work, professional counseling, or marriage and family therapy.

(E) The term “accredited”, when applied to a school of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, public health, or chiropractic, or a graduate program in health administration, clinical psychology, clinical social work, professional counseling, or marriage and family therapy, means a school or program that is accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Secretary of Education, except that a new school or program that, by reason of an insufficient period of operation, is not, at the time of application for a grant or contract under this subchapter, eligible for accreditation by such a recognized body or bodies, shall be deemed accredited for purposes of this subchapter, if the Secretary of Education finds, after consultation with the appropriate accreditation body or bodies, that there is reasonable assurance that the school or program will meet the accreditation standards of such body or bodies prior to the beginning of the academic year following the normal graduation date of the first entering class in such school or program.

(2) The term “teaching facilities” means areas dedicated for use by students, faculty, or administrative or maintenance personnel for clinical purposes, research activities, libraries, classrooms, offices, auditoriums, dining areas, student activities, or other related purposes necessary for, and appropriate to, the conduct of comprehensive programs of education. Such term includes interim facilities but does not include off-site improvements or living quarters.

(3) Physician assistant education program.—The term “physician assistant education program” means an educational program in a public or private institution in a State that—

(A) has as its objective the education of individuals who, upon completion of their studies in the program, be ¹ qualified to provide primary care medical services with the supervision of a physician; and

(B) is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.

(4) The term “school of allied health” means a public or nonprofit private college, junior college, or university or hospital-based educational entity that—

(A) provides, or can provide, programs of education to enable individuals to become allied health professionals or to provide additional training for allied health professionals;

(B) provides training for not less than a total of twenty persons in the allied health curricula (except that this subparagraph shall not apply to any hospital-based educational entity);

(C) includes or is affiliated with a teaching hospital; and

(D) is accredited by a recognized body or bodies approved for such purposes by the Secretary of Education, or which provides to the Secretary satisfactory assurance by such accrediting body or bodies that reasonable progress is being made toward accreditation.

(5) The term “allied health professionals” means a health professional (other than a registered nurse or physician assistant)—

(A) who has received a certificate, an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a doctoral degree, or postbaccalaureate training, in a science relating to health care;

(B) who shares in the responsibility for the delivery of health care services or related services, including—

(i) services relating to the identification, evaluation, and prevention of disease and disorders;

(ii) dietary and nutrition services;

(iii) health promotion services;

(iv) rehabilitation services; or

(v) health systems management services; and

(C) who has not received a degree of doctor of medicine, a degree of doctor of osteopathy, a degree of doctor of dentistry or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of optometry or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of podiatric medicine or an equivalent degree, a degree of bachelor of science in pharmacy or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of pharmacy or an equivalent degree, a graduate degree in public health or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of chiropractic or an equivalent degree, a graduate degree in health administration or an equivalent degree, a doctoral degree in clinical psychology or an equivalent degree, or a degree in social work or an equivalent degree or a degree in counseling or an equivalent degree.

(6) The term “medically underserved community” means an urban or rural area or population that—

(A) is eligible for designation under section 254e of this title as a health professional shortage area;

(B) is eligible to be served by a migrant health center under section 254b ² of this title, a community health center under section 254c ² of this title, a grantee under section 254b(h) of this title (relating to homeless individuals), or a grantee under section 256a ² of this title (relating to residents of public housing);

(C) has a shortage of personal health services, as determined under criteria issued by the Secretary under section 1395x(aa)(2) of this title (relating to rural health clinics); or

(D) is designated by a State Governor (in consultation with the medical community) as a shortage area or medically underserved community.

(7) The term “Department” means the Department of Health and Human Services.

(8) The term “nonprofit” refers to the status of an entity owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

(9) The term “State” includes, in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

(10)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term “underrepresented minorities” means, with respect to a health profession, racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the health profession relative to the number of individuals who are members of the population involved.

(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), Asian individuals shall be considered by the various subpopulations of such individuals.

(11) The term “psychologist” means an individual who—

(A) holds a doctoral degree in psychology; and

(B) is licensed or certified on the basis of the doctoral degree in psychology, by the State in which the individual practices, at the independent practice level of psychology to furnish diagnostic, assessment, preventive, and therapeutic services directly to individuals.

(12) Area health education center.—The term “area health education center” means a public or nonprofit private organization that has a cooperative agreement or contract in effect with an entity that has received an award under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of section 294a of this title, satisfies the requirements in section 294a(d)(1) of this title, and has as one of its principal functions the operation of an area health education center. Appropriate organizations may include hospitals, health organizations with accredited primary care training programs, accredited physician assistant educational programs associated with a college or university, and universities or colleges not operating a school of medicine or osteopathic medicine.

(13) Area health education center program.—The term “area health education center program” means ³ cooperative program consisting of an entity that has received an award under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of section 294a of this title for the purpose of planning, developing, operating, and evaluating an area health education center program and one or more area health education centers, which carries out the required activities described in section 294a(c) of this title, satisfies the program requirements in such section,⁴ has as one of its principal functions identifying and implementing strategies and activities that address health care workforce needs in its service area, in coordination with the local workforce investment boards.

(14) Clinical social worker.—The term “clinical social worker” has the meaning given the term in section 1395x(hh)(1) of this title.

(15) Cultural competency.—The term “cultural competency” shall be defined by the Secretary in a manner consistent with section 300u-6(d)(3) of this title.

(16) Direct care worker.—The term “direct care worker” has the meaning given that term in the 2010 Standard Occupational Classifications of the Department of Labor for Home Health Aides [31-1011], Psychiatric Aides [31-1013], Nursing Assistants [31-1014], and Personal Care Aides [39-9021].

(17) Federally qualified health center.—The term “Federally qualified health center” has the meaning given that term in section 1395x(aa) of this title.

(18) Frontier health professional shortage area.—The term “frontier health professional shortage area” means an area—

(A) with a population density less than 6 persons per square mile within the service area; and

(B) with respect to which the distance or time for the population to access care is excessive.

(19) Graduate psychology.—The term “graduate psychology” means an accredited program in professional psychology.

(20) Health disparity population.—The term “health disparity population” has the meaning given such term in section 299a-1(d)(1) of this title.

(21) Health literacy.—The term “health literacy” means the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand health information and services in order to make appropriate health decisions.

(22) Mental health service professional.—The term “mental health service professional” means an individual with a graduate or postgraduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in psychiatry, psychology, school psychology, behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nursing, social work, school social work, substance abuse disorder prevention and treatment, marriage and family counseling, school counseling, or professional counseling.

(23) One-stop delivery system center.—The term “one-stop delivery system” means a one-stop delivery system described in section 3151(e) of title 29.

(24) Paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health worker.—The term “paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health worker” means an individual who is not a mental or behavioral health service professional, but who works at the first stage of contact with children and families who are seeking mental or behavioral health services, including substance abuse prevention and treatment services.

(25) Racial and ethnic minority group; racial and ethnic minority population.—The terms “racial and ethnic minority group” and “racial and ethnic minority population” have the meaning given the term “racial and ethnic minority group” in section 300u-6 of this title.

(26) Rural health clinic.—The term “rural health clinic” has the meaning given that term in section 1395x(aa) of this title.