This week the
nation observes National Area Health Education Centers (AHEC)
Week, which was first launched by the 109th Congress
of the United States June 12, 2006. The AHEC program was
developed by the U.S. Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and
retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved
populations.
The HETC (Health
Education Training Centers) program was created in 1989 to
provide programs for specific populations with persistent,
severe unmet health needs. Together the AHEC and HETC programs
help bring the resources of academic medicine to bear in
addressing local community health needs.
Around the nation
AHEC partners with state and local health departments, primary
care associations and community health centers in urban and
rural communities to provide a hands-on experience outside the
classroom for health-care students, ongoing education for
health-care professionals and community health education.
Today, 50 AHEC
programs with more than 200 centers and a dozen HETCs operate in
almost every state and the District of Columbia. Approximately
120 medical schools and 600 nursing and allied health schools
work collaboratively with AHECs and HETCs to improve health for
underserved and under-represented populations.
The Ohio
Statewide AHEC program is centered on the state’s seven medical
colleges, which includes Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine (OU-COM). The Ohio Statewide AHEC program receives more
than $2.5 million in grants, contracts and budget support from
federal, state and local resources.
OU-COM’s AHEC
program — the Consortium for Health Education in Appalachian
Ohio — is part of the college’s Community Health Programs and
provides program services in 20 Appalachian counties. Every one
of Ohio’s 88 counties is served by an AHEC program.
Kathy Trace,
R.N.,
director of OU-COM’s Community Health Programs, also directs OU-COM’s
AHEC program. Says Trace, AHEC plays a key role in promoting
health care and health education in Southeastern Ohio. Every
community is unique and AHEC works hard to design diverse
programs that focus on important health-care issues.
“AHEC reaches
individuals and communities in this region through its diverse
programming,” says Trace.
“Last year AHEC
provided resources for more than 160 educational events,
coordinated more than 2,500 service learning hours that reached
more than 1,650 people in rural areas, assisted with the
coordination of health career exploration for more than 40
middle school students in local schools, provided more than
$190,000 of free continuing education to physicians, nurses,
social workers, counselors and other allied health members, and
supported the training of more than 600 people in CPR, advanced
cardiac life support and pediatric advanced life support. AHEC
also serves as an American Heart Association Training Center and
provides grants for Women’s Health Month activities.
AHEC’s mission is
accomplished because of its collaboration with academic and
community partners, says Trace.
“OU-COM makes it
possible for us to positively impact the health status of
Appalachian Ohio, primarily by focusing on underserved
communities. At our medical school, this is accomplished, in
part, by coordinating the learning activities (service learning)
for medical students such as health fairs, school visits and
campaigns to raise public awareness of health issues. The
program also supports the exploration of health careers and
premedical clinical shadowing.”
“Over the years
AHEC has improved the availability of health-care professionals
and access to quality health care in Ohio,” says Trace.
Join in AHEC’s celebration today at Grosvenor 020. Learn more about the program by exploring its
library.
Come eat some cookies and grab some giveaways, says Tracy
McKibben, AHEC’s administrative assistant.
- 30 -
News for the weeks of March 12 – March 24
