Alabama Area Health Education Centers
Poised to lead for the future of Alabama Health Care
An Opportunity to Advance the Rural Healthcare Workforce
Developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train, and retain a health professions workforce committed to serving underserved populations, Area Health Education Centers work to creatively adapt national initiatives to address local and regional health care issues. Our education, recruitment, and retention programs serve as a bridge between academics and communities, connecting students to health careers, health professionals to communities, and communities to better care.
The purpose of each program is to meet the needs of the communities we serve through robust partnerships with a focus on exposure, education, and training of the current and future health care workforce. We work closely with each state’s institutions of higher education, healthcare providers, community partners, and others to build and support the healthcare workforce needed for every community to have access to high-quality, patient-focused care.
Patient-Focused Care for All
At AHEC, we have made it our mission to enhance access to quality healthcare, particularly primary and preventative care, by improving the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals via strategic partnerships with academic programs, communities, and professional organizations.
Workforce Development
AHEC recruits students through our programs. Partnering and collaborating with high schools and community colleges, AHEC provides opportunities to students in order to develop a trained healthcare workforce.
Continuing Education
AHEC supplements and promotes education by creating networks between two and four-year institutions. When education is consistent and abundant, career ladders are created for healthcare professionals, strengthening their retention rates and lifting individuals and communities beyond traditional disenfranchisement.
Bridging Educational Gaps
By supplementing healthcare specific educational resources, AHEC attempts to reduce the academic achievement gaps and support a robust workforce serving historically underserved communities.
Expanding the Workforce
AHEC works to expand the workforce through the recruitment of individuals in disadvantaged and rural communities, promoting various professions across the healthcare industry.
Economic Development
Healthcare is a primary driver of economic development. Each family medicine physician placed in a rural community creates 24 new jobs on average. AHEC improves healthcare access and hyper-local economies by connecting communities with the providers they need.
At AHEC, we’re building and supporting the healthcare workforce Alabama needs.
Join us today.
Regional Centers
EAST CENTRAL ALABAMA AHEC
NORTH ALABAMA AHEC
BLACK BELT ALABAMA AHEC
WIREGRASS ALABAMA AHEC
DELTA ALABAMA AHEC
The Alabama AHEC Network is dedicated to recruiting, training, and retaining the Alabama healthcare workforce while broadening the distribution of the health workforce, enhancing the quality of care, and improving health care delivery to rural an underserved populations in Alabama. The following centers are members of the Alabama AHEC Network and are federally funded HRSA AHEC Programs and nationally recognized Area Health Education Centers: Alabama Statewide Network Program Office, North Alabama AHEC (NAAHEC), East Central Alabama AHEC (ECAAHEC), Black Belt Alabama AHEC (BBAAHEC), Wiregrass Alabama AHEC (WAAHEC), Delta Alabama AHEC (DAAHEC).
