The Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. The purpose of the AHEC program is to help address local and regional healthcare issues and meet the needs of the communities they serve through community and academic partnerships.
By working with academic institutions, and community health centers (CHCs), AHECs focus on improving health care systems, behavioral health practices, and community-based organizations. These partnerships are vital to AHECs to enable them to develop and train a diverse health care workforce. Delivering culturally competent healthcare with an emphasis on rural and underserved communities is the AHEC mission.
Our Area Health Education Center has been doing just this since it’s inception in 2003, striving to improve the access to quality healthcare, particularly primary and preventative care to the communities of our 11-county region.
AHECs are responsive to local health needs and serve as an important link between academic training programs and community-based outreach programs.
Join us in learning more about the local health needs of our community and emerging public health initiatives, social determinants of health and much more. We will explore these topics with articles contributed by our expert community educational partners as well as local and state healthcare professionals.
An AHEC is an Area Health Education Center that Addresses Health Equity Challenges in YOUR community!
