How Dr. Rochelle Erased $283,940 in Student Loan Debt While Expanding Access To Healthcare for her Community

Picture this: I reach out to coordinate an interview with Dr. Rochelle and find out she's on a family vacation in Europe. She was leaving Venice, Italy and heading to Switzerland! And here's the beautiful part - this is exactly the kind of life that becomes possible when you're no longer drowning in student loan debt.

Dr. Rochelle just eliminated $283,940.87 in student loans through Public Service Loan Forgiveness. But her story isn't just about the money (though that freedom is incredible). It's about transformation - of her practice, her community impact, and her family's entire future.

Crushing Chiropractic Student Loan Debt

Fresh out of school, Dr. Rochelle faced what millions of healthcare providers know too well - the impossible math of student loans plus practice expenses plus basic living costs.

"I had to pay rent for my apartment, then pay rent for my small office, utilities, electricity, and then here comes the student loans - that's like a whole other house payment," she remembers. "It was so, so stressful."

The debt felt inescapable. Interest kept accumulating faster than she could pay it down. She put loans in forbearance, tried income based repayment, and every payment felt like bailing water from a sinking ship. But nothing really solved the core problem.

Meanwhile, she was treating special needs children and families who couldn't afford care. She wanted to expand access to serve her community, but her debt load made the generosity difficult.

The PSLF Breakthrough

After nearly two decades of practice, Dr. Rochelle learned about Public Service Loan Forgiveness from another Chiropractor who had created their own nonprofit. It was the first time she'd heard of the program.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is the fastest and only tax-free form of student loan forgiveness but only government and nonprofit employees are eligible.

"What a game changer that became for us," she said.

But here's what makes her story even more remarkable. Before opening her practice, Dr. Rochelle had spent seven years teaching at Southern California University of Health Sciences which is a nonprofit institution. She had no idea she could get those years to count towards PSLF. That discovery instantly put her more than halfway to forgiveness.

2 Types of Student Loan Forgiveness (IDR vs. PSLF)

Before qualifying for PSLF, Dr. Rochelle was doing what so many dedicated professionals do, faithfully making payments under an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. These plans - whether it’s Income Contingent Repayment (ICR), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), or the Trump Administration’s Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) - can feel like a lifeline. They lower the monthly payment improving cashflow, stretch repayment over 20–25 years, and promise forgiveness at the end.

But there’s a hidden sting attached... That “forgiven” balance isn’t a gift, it’s treated as taxable income. For doctors with multiple six figures of student debt, that can mean an unexpected tax bomb of $100,000+ hitting all at once.

For Dr. Rochelle, that looming financial black hole was always in the back of her mind until PSLF changed everything. It meant keeping the affordable payments of an IDR plan but erasing her debt in 10 years instead of 25 and without triggering a massive tax bomb. In Dr. Rochelle’s case PSLF was about freedom, peace of mind, and the ability to focus fully on serving her community without the crushing weight of student loans.

The Healthcare Access Project

Dr. Rochelle tried to create her nonprofit through LegalZoom and two other services before finding the Healthcare Access Project. Like many providers, she thought she could figure it out alone.

"I wish I had known about this before I started my nonprofit," she told me. "I had three different areas that I was getting help to create it."

When she finally connected with us, everything clicked into place. We helped her fianlize the nonprofit and navigate the PSLF paperwork, showed her how to count her teaching years, and suddenly she had a clear path to tax-free student loan forgiveness.

"You made it so easy," she said. "The online course, everything was easy to find, easy to read. The most significant thing I remember was filling out the PSLF application. I saw step-by-step exactly how to fill it out."

The Miracle Baby Who Started It All

Every great nonprofit has an origin story. For Dr. Rochelle, it was a nine-month-old baby whose parents couldn't afford care.

This child had been through every test imaginable. Low muscle tone from birth trauma. Couldn't lift his head. Couldn't swallow. Feeding tube. Doctors said he'd never walk.

"His upper cervical area - I've never felt anything like it," Dr. Rochelle explained. "It was so rotated and pushed to one side."

Through gentle Chiropractic care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy provided by her nonprofit, this child learned to lift his head, swallow without a feeding tube, and eventually walk and talk. He's now in school, thriving.

"He was one of our first people we signed up for our nonprofit," she said. "We actually gave him a scholarship because he couldn't afford very much, so we covered most of his care through our nonprofit."

Expanding Access To Healthcare For First Responders

Dr. Rochelle's nonprofit expands access to Chiropractic and holistic healthcare for underserved communities, special needs patients, and first responders. But one initiative particularly caught my attention: putting infrared saunas in fire stations.

"We have infrared saunas in our office. So we have an infrared sauna initiative with our nonprofit that puts infrared saunas into all the local fire stations. We've gotten it approved now through LA County."

Think about that impact. A single Chiropractor's nonprofit influenced county wide policy for first responder wellness. That's the power of legitimate nonprofit work.

The Letter That Changed Everything

After three years of nonprofit work (combined with her previous teaching time), Dr. Rochelle received the letter every PSLF participant dreams of: complete loan forgiveness approved.

"I got the letter just recently that my entire student loan debt has been erased," she told me, and I could hear the joy in her voice. "I can't tell you what that's done for us, being able to take my family on this vacation and even buy a house."

See, the student debt had a major impact on debt-to-income ratio which made qualifying for a mortgage nearly impossible at reasonable rates.

"Now to have over $283,940 off your debt-to-income ratio, that makes a huge difference when you're qualifying for a mortgage."

The Message Every Healthcare Provider Needs to Hear

When I asked Dr. Rochelle what she'd tell healthcare providers who think nonprofit formation sounds too complicated or that Public Service Loan Forgiveness sounds too good to be true, her response was immediate:

"I was always told that starting a nonprofit is so much work. You have to pay so much in attorney fees and all of these different things that I just was like, 'Oh, I can't do that. I can't do that.' And I just want people to know that it's not hard when we have someone like you walking us through the process. It really was not very hard at all."

Who qualifies as a nonprofit patient? You decide, but common examples are those with financial hardships, active military and veterans, first responders, teachers, the LGBTQ+ community, as well as racial and ethnic minorities.

Join the Bigger Mission

The Healthcare Access Project has started a movement, having helped launch over 600 nonprofits nationwide and practitioners are positioned to receive over $160 million in student loan forgiveness while serving tens of thousands of patients.

Wiping out six‑figure debt is half the win…

The other half is expanding access to healthcare for underserved groups in your own community.

From Chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, dentists, and acupuncturists, to plastic surgeons, physicians, physical therapists, and clinical psychologists, healthcare providers from a variety of backgrounds have launched PSLF compliant nonprofit organizations to serve their community and save big on their student debt.

Dr. Rochelle's inspirational story proves starting a nonprofit and qualifying for PSLF isn't just manageable, it's transformational. For your practice, your community, and your financial future.