Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program

1. Area Health Education Centers (AHEC)Program Louis Coccodrilli, MPH Chief, AHEC Branch Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professions Division of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Education

2. Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program • Established by Congress in 1971. • Title VII, Section 751 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294a), as amended by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Public Law 111-148. • Emphasis on developing a health care workforce that meets the primary care needs of communities.

3. AHEC Program • Provides grants to schools of medicine & nursing to establish & maintain community-based training programs in off campus rural and/or underserved areas. • Supports 55 AHEC programs contracting with 234 centers ongoing in 47 states, the District of Columbia, territories of Guam, Palau and Puerto Rico.

4. AHEC Program Phases Two Programmatic Phases: • Infrastructure Development • Establishment of community-based AHEC Centers • Initial development and implementation of interdisciplinary/interprofessional, community-based primary care training programs • Health careers outreach to minority, disadvantaged, rural students • Point of Service Maintenance & Enhancement • Improving the effectiveness and capabilities of existing AHEC Programs and Centers • Adjusting the AHEC program to respond to the changing demographics and health workforce needs of the state or region served

5. AHEC Activities AHECs form community-academic partnerships to provide a national infrastructure to carry out the following activities: Conduct health careers outreach and recruitment activities for individuals from underrepresented, disadvantaged, or rural backgrounds, including students in grades K-12. Provide community-based clinical rotations or preceptorships to medical and associated health professions students with an emphasis on primary care. Conduct interdisciplinary/interprofessional education and training involving an array of health professionals. Deliver or facilitate continuing education to providers who serve in rural and underserved areas. Propose and implement outcomes measurement and evaluation strategies.

6. Academic-Community Partnerships Stakeholders Communities Universities AHEC Centers Local AHEC Centers State Program Office AHEC Centers Fed AHEC Centers

7. AHEC Center Requirements Each AHEC Center: • Must be independent from the grantee • Not a subunit of grantee or grantee’s parent institution • Designates an underserved area or population to be served • Has a governing or advisory board that reflects diversity of communities Centers receive 75% of the Federal awards via contracts with grantees

8. AHEC Collaborations • Coordination with Department of Labor & Workforce Investment Boards • Collaboration with Community Health Centers/Federally Qualified Health Centers, Migrant and Rural Health Clinics • National Health Service Corps – Ambassadors • Collaboration with other Federal Programs – i.e. Health Careers Opportunity Programs, Primary Care Residency Programs

9. The ACA Amendment Added New Disciplines: AHEC Interdisciplinary/Inter-professional Training • Physicians • Physician Assistants • Nurse Practitioners • Nurse Midwives • Dentists+ • Psychologists+ • Pharmacists + • Optometrists+ • Community Health Workers+ • Public Health and Allied Health disciplines, as practicable + Newly added

10. AHEC Performance Measures * Most Recent Result:Academic Year 2009/2010 (unduplicated numbers)

11. Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages (ACICBL) Provides advice and recommendations to the HHS Secretary specific to policy and program development Consists of 21-member Committee each representing specific areas (Allied Health, AHECs, GECs) Mandated to meet three times within the year Prepares and submits annual reports to the Secretary and Congressional Committees

12. Involvement in Healthcare Workforce Studies AHEC programs are involved in statewide healthcare workforce studies to: • Determine the supply and distribution of primary care providers within their respective state • Assess health personnel shortages overall • Examine changes in healthcare workforce distribution • Determine if there are/will be adequate healthcare professionals to meet needs of a growing and diverse population • Develop database to provide healthcare workforce information for planning purposes • Develop strategies to train, recruit and retain health professionals

13. Involvement in Healthcare Workforce Studies • Alaska AHEC - 2009 Alaska Health Workforce Vacancy Study ** • Arizona AHEC – 2010 Report on The Status of Arizona’s Healthcare Workforce ** • Arkansas AHEC – 2008 Statewide Health Workforce Vacancies Report ** • Hawaii/Pacific-Basin AHEC – Statewide database of practicing MDs, PAs, and NPs • Indiana AHEC – 2009 West Central Indiana AHEC Health Professions Workforce Needs Assessment Report ** • Vermont AHEC – The Vermont Primary Care Workforce – 2009 Snapshot ** ** indicates there are supporting publications

14. State Health Care Workforce Planning Grantees State Health Care Workforce • Planning Grantees 25 • Implementation Grantee 1 AHEC Program grantees in the same states 24 AHEC Programs Information & Directory http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/area.htm

15. Contact Information Joan Weiss, PhD, RN, CRNP Louis Coccodrilli, MPH, Rph Director, Division of Public Health & Chief, AHEC Branch Interdisciplinary Education Division of Public Health & Interdisciplinary Education Bureau of Health Professions/HRSA Bureau of Health Professions/HRSA Phone: (301) 443-0430 Phone: (301) 443-7774 E-mail: jweiss@hrsa.gov E-mail: lcoccodrilli@hrsa.gov Norma Hatot, CAPT Meseret Bezuneh, M.S.Ed. Senior Program Officer Public Health Analyst/Project Officer Phone: (301) 443-2681 Phone: (301) 594-4149 E-mail: nhatot@hrsa.gov E-mail: mbezuneh@hrsa.gov Michelle Menser, MPH Public Health Analyst/Project Officer Phone (301) 443-6853 E-mail: mmenser@hrsa.gov AHEC Branch Main Telephone Number: 301-443-6950 Fax: 301-443-0157 Website: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/area.htm