Area
Health Education Centers (AHECs) are academic-community partnerships
that train health care providers in sites and programs that are
responsive to State and local needs. Health career enhancement and
recruitment programs for K-12 students are emphasized.
AHECs improve
the supply, distribution, diversity and quality of the health workforce,
ultimately increasing access to health care in medically underserved
areas.
Background
AHECs link the resources of university health science centers
with local planning, educational and clinical resources. This network
of health-related institutions provides multidisciplinary educational
services to students, faculty and local practitioners, ultimately
improving health care delivery in medically underserved areas.
The AHEC program
is a long-term initiative, requiring major changes both in the traditional
method of training medical and other health professions students
and in the relationship between university health science centers
and community health service delivery systems. AHEC projects are
usually implemented in three phases: planning in year one; development
in year two; and operation beginning in year three.
Legislative
Authority
The Health Professions Education Partnerships of 1998 reauthorized
the AHEC Program (Basic AHEC and Model AHEC) for five years. The
Basic AHEC Program was initiated in FY 1972; the Model State Supported
AHEC Program was initiated in FY 1993.
Impact
In a typical year, AHECS
- Train 32,000
health professions students (17,000 medical students and 15,000
other health professions students) in community-based sites
- Work with
approximately 600 federally-funded community and migrant health
centers, 600
health departments and
200 National Health Service Corps sites
- Provide health
career enhance and recruitment activities of 20 hours or more
to 25,000 students grades 9-12
- Train 6,000 teachers and counselors in
health careers
- Provide continuing
education to 330,000 local health care providers
States
with AHEC Programs
All U.S. States except Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota
and South Dakota have AHEC programs
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