Rule 195-26-.01 - General Definitions(1) "Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce" means the organization and its office created under O.C.G.A. § 49-10-1.(2) "Georgia Dentist Education Loan Repayment Program (GDELRP)" refers to that program of the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce authorized under O.C.G.A. § 49-10-3.(2), which awards service cancelable financial loans to Dentists who desire to practice in rural communities of Georgia.(3) "Loans" refers to a four (4) year service repayable grant awarded by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to applicants who are desirous of becoming practicing Dentists in rural areas of Georgia.(4) "Loan Repayment" refers to repayment of all or a portion of recipient's outstanding Dental education, and training loan debt.(5) "Qualifying debt" is any debt held by an established lending institution, identifiable by a promissory note as origination from the debt incurred to obtain a dental education, fully disclosed at the time of application and is currently not in default even if the creditor now considers the defaulted loan to be in good standing.(6) "Dental Education and Training Loan Debt" refers to loans incurred by the applicant to finance his/her Dental education and training that remain unpaid during the contract period.(7) "Eligible and Qualified Applicant" is defined as a dentist with outstanding dental education and training loan debt, holding a current, unrestricted license or a 4th year dental student who will be eligible to apply for a license upon graduation to practice dentistry in the State of Georgia, who desires to serve in a Board-approved, dentally underserved rural area of Georgia.(8) "Dental School" means an institution of Dental education that has received accreditation or provisional accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) for a program in dental education designed to qualify the graduate for licensure by the Georgia Board of Dentistry.(9) "Recipient" means any person who receives any amount of funding from the Georgia Dentist Education Loan Repayment Program administered by the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce.(10) "Service Repayment" means the period of service earned by the Dentist, as approved by the Board, toward repayment of the service cancelable loan in professional dental services rendered by the recipient and as required under the provisions of the loan contract.(11) "Credit" means the amount of time credited to the recipient for services rendered in compliance with the provisions of the contract. Credit is typically applied with one year of funding for each year of service rendered in compliance with the repayment provisions of the contract.(12) "Rural and Underserved Area" means a Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce approved rural county in Georgia of 50,000 population or less according to the United States decennial census of 2020 or any future such census.(13) "Board Certification" means the process of examining and certifying the qualifications of a Dentist.(14) "Award Amount" refers to the annual amount obligated to a loan repayment recipient. The following maximum annual award amounts apply to Dentists whose initial applications for participation in the program: Year 1 - $25,000 or 15% if the total loan balance is less than $150,000 Year 2 - $35,000 or 20% if the total loan balance is less than $150,000 Year 3 - $40,000 or 30% if the total loan balance is less than $150,000 Year 4 - $50,000 or 35% if the total loan balance is less than $150,000 (15) "Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce" means that the agency of Georgia State Government, created under O.C.G.A. § 49-10-1, which is responsible for monitoring Georgia's dental workforce needs and identifying areas of need by dental specialty and geographic area.(16) "Default" means breach of contract by the recipient in failing to begin of failing to complete the contractual service obligation of the Georgia Dentist Education Loan Repayment Program.(17) "Ad Damnum or Double Damages" refers to the penalty resulting from a loan repayment recipient defaulting on their contractual obligations. Default requires immediate repayment of double the award amount for the unfulfilled service period as outlined in 195-26-.01(14) less any pro-rated amount for repaid service as provided in the contract.(18) "Cancellation of Contract" refers to the discretionary power of the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to cancel any contract for cause deemed sufficient by the Board provided such authority is not exercised unreasonably or arbitrarily.(19) "Full Time" refers to the minimum number of hours of work required per week to fulfill services obligation. Full-time is considered a minimum of 32 clinical hours, providing dental services during normal office hours at the approved practice site. The remaining hours must be spent providing practice-related administrative activities. On-call hours are not considered part of the full-time requirement. For dentists employed under state jurisdiction, the full-time equivalent recognized by the respective state agency is acceptable. No more than 7 weeks (35 workdays) per year can be spent away from the practice for vacation, holidays, continuing professional education, illness, or any other reason. Absences greater than 7 weeks in a service year will extend the service commitment.(20) "Dental Student" refers to a dental student who shall be a citizen or national of the United States and shall be actively enrolled as a fourth-year dental student in an accredited dental education program located in the United States.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 195-26-.01
O.C.G.A. §§ 49-10-3.(2), 31-34-1, 31-34-2, 31-34-3, 31-34-4.
Original Rule entitled "General Definitions" adopted. F. Nov. 4, 2024; eff. Nov. 24, 2024.