National Health Service Corps (NHSC)

National Health Service Corps (NHSC), a program of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) in which health care personnel are placed in areas that are underserved. The corps was established by the Emergency Health Personnel Act of 1970. Nurses, physicians, and dentists serve in rural and urban areas, usually as employees of local health care agencies. The USPHS pays most of the salary of each corps member.