For Alana Longwell, DO, moving to Emporia, Kansas, to begin her practice back in 2011 was more than a career move; it was the fulfillment of a promise she made when she accepted the Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship.
By accepting this service scholarship created through support of the Kansas Legislature and administered by the Kansas Board of Regents, she committed to returning one year of primary medical care practice in an underserved area for each year of scholarship assistance. She initially planned to fulfill her obligation and then move on. Instead, 14 years later, she still finds herself and her family embedded in the growing Kansas community she “fell in love” with.
Now chief medical officer at Newman Regional Health, Dr. Longwell not only leads the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit but also serves as a preceptor for the next generation of osteopathic physicians for Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM).
Dr. Longwell shared that without the scholarship, there is “no way” she would have found her way to Emporia, and the economic security it offered allowed her to pay off medical debt relatively quickly.
“The Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship meant I only had to take out federal loans, and I was debt-free seven years out of my residency,” Dr. Longwell says. “That financial freedom and the cognitive burden that it has taken away has been huge.”
Her lasting success in her rural community underscores the impact of the scholarship program, which has helped place physicians in Kansas counties since 1975. But until recently, the scholarship hadn’t been updated to keep pace with the evolving needs of medical students and rural communities. Kansas Health Science University (KHSU), the founding and operating institution behind KansasCOM, recognized this gap and made efforts to modernize the program, ensuring it remains a key tool in retaining physicians for the state.
In recent years, KHSU advocated for necessary updates to the scholarship. Legislative advocacy efforts have led to modernization of the program and ensuring continued funding to the scholarship. KHSU’s leadership, including its president, engaged with legislators, the governor’s office, and the Kansas Board of Regents to push for modernization and sustained appropriations.
“This scholarship program is one key way we can guarantee placing physicians in Kansas,” says Tiffany Masson, Psy.D., president and CEO of KHSU. “Through our ongoing relationships with legislators, we’ve been able to ensure that this vital program remains relevant and accessible to today’s medical students.”
When Dr. Longwell received the Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship, the amount awarded was $15,000 per year, she says. In 2025, recipients are awarded $41,000 per year for up to four years, up from $25,000 most recently, due to additional appropriations provided in the Kansas budget thanks to bipartisan support.
Easing Medical School Debt
Medical students often face intense pressures stemming from demanding academics, extended study and clinical hours, and living costs. On top of these daily anxieties, they must also consider how their future practice will support the repayment of loans on which they rely. The Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship allows for repayment of the scholarship through service rather than interest-accruing debt.
When second-year medical student Kerstin Crouch from Overland Park was first accepted to KansasCOM, the financial anxiety of entering medical school crept in almost right away, she says, but finding this scholarship helped ease her mind.
“I took maybe a week to celebrate, then I immediately started looking at all of the scholarship opportunities that I could find that I could qualify for,” Crouch says. “I was putting them into a spreadsheet with all of the dates listed and the amounts and requirements. Then this service scholarship caught my eye because it was such a large amount.”
Crouch says that while she’s in school pursuing pediatrics, the scholarship covering part of her tuition provides her some “peace of mind” so she can focus her time and energy where it is needed.
“It has allowed me to not have to be working, and so I am able to use that time to be in student clubs. I’m in the student government, for example,” Crouch says. “Unfortunately, some of my colleagues don’t have that same ability.”
A year ahead of Crouch, KansasCOM medical student Payton Leiker from Topeka is also a scholarship recipient who plans to practice pediatrics.
Leiker says that because pediatrics is one of the lowest paid specialties in medicine, sometimes young doctors are deterred from it because of concerns surrounding repaying debt.
“Medical students are extremely limited by where they match, what specialty they want to go into, job availability, and paying back their debt,” Leiker says. “And so, by having a scholarship that helps pay that tuition, we’re able to have a little bit more power over where we stay and we can make decisions that aren’t necessarily fully financial. That is part of the reason why I feel confident going into pediatrics and being able to stay in Kansas where I want to be.”
Strengthening Rural Health Care: A 2-Way Benefit
The Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship meets a dire need with nearly 40% of Kansas’ primary care physicians over the age of 55 (as of 2019). The aging physician workforce is projected to exacerbate shortages in health care access as retirements gradually limit doctor availability. While new doctors in rural areas help expand health care access for thousands of patients, they also gain valuable professional growth opportunities and leadership experience.
“There are so many communities that need good physicians. They’re needing people with new ideas and training that’s innovative,” Dr. Longwell says. “If you’re not from a rural community it can feel somewhat intimidating, but these areas offer interesting roles that may not be available in urban settings. The doors you can open in a small town are very unique.”
In the 2025 cycle, the Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship is available to a select number of Kansas residents who are committed to providing primary care in specific counties. It functions as a loan repayment program, providing financial assistance in exchange for a service commitment in rural or medically underserved areas. However, recipients who do not fulfill their service obligation face significant financial consequences, as the scholarship converts into a loan with interest fees beginning from the date of acceptance.
Eligible specialties include family medicine, pediatrics, general internal medicine, OB-GYN, emergency medicine, and geriatric medicine. Physicians also must practice within a medically underserved area in Kansas, which includes all counties except Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte.
For both Crouch and Leiker, the specialty and location requirements naturally fit with their future goals.
Crouch says, “I was already planning on practicing rural medicine, and here’s this opportunity to have less debt to jumpstart my life and my family while also getting to do this amazing dream job that growing up I didn’t ever think I was going to get to do. I am just very grateful.”
Ultimately, the Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship empowers student doctors like these and encourages them to become contributors to the health care workforce in areas where they are needed most, ensuring all Kansans receive optimal care regardless of zip code.