Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ's AHEC Program
What is Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ's AHEC?
Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) are a network of
programs and centers in the United States designed to improve access to health care
and address health care workforce shortages, particularly in underserved and rural
areas. The AHEC program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1971 and is administered
by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ’s AHEC began at
the Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ (UAA) in 2005 and was the first in the country
to be awarded through a School of Nursing, rather than a School of Medicine.
The Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ AHEC program office is located within the UAA Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ Center for Rural Health & Health Workforce. The program office contracts with six regional Centers who are hosted by community partners across the state. These Centers are dedicated to healthcare workforce engagement, training, recruiting, and retaining activities through academic and community based partnerships. Each center implements educational activities involving exposure for students to health care delivery in rural and/or underserved settings.
AHEC's Strategies
Engage: Engaging youth and adults by providing educational hands-on activities, camps, and events exploring and preparing for health care careers and opportunities in Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ.
Train: Training health profession students for practice in rural and underserved communities by targeting all disciplines from certificate to doctoral programs and working with health facilities and providers across the state to provide community based experiential learning opportunities.
Retain: Retaining a high quality health care workforce in Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ by providing access to continuing education, resiliency, and loan repayment opportunities. The ultimate goal is to stabilize the health workforce to better meet the health care needs of Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ.
Regional AHEC Centers
- Northwest (Nome) is hosted by (NSHC)
- Interior (Fairbanks) is hosted by (FHP)
- Yukon-Kuskokwim (Bethel) is hosted by (YKHC)
- South Central (Anchorage) is hosted by (APCA)
- Southeast (Juneau) is hosted by (SERRC)
- Southwest (Anchorage) is hosted by (APIA)
Partners & Collaborations
Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ’s AHEC Program is not possible without strategic partnerships. AHEC works in collaboration with health care institutions, universities, community organizations, and local governments to achieve the goal of engaging, training, and retaining the health workforce. These partnerships help expand the reach and positive impact of Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ’s rural and underserved communities.
We thank all of our partners for supporting Â鶹ÎÞÂë°æ AHEC’s mission!
Resources
Contact information for each center and it's director can be found here.
