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
Presentation Outline
•AHEC Program Legislation & Purpose
•AHEC Program & Center Requirements
•Key Program Activities
•Collaborations with Other Bureaus
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.
AHEC Program
 Provides grants to schools of medicine and
nursing to establish and maintain communitybased training programs in off campus rural
and/or underserved areas.
 In FY 2011, supports 57 AHEC programs
contracting with 253 centers in 48 states, the
District of Columbia, territories of Guam,
Palau and Puerto Rico.
AHEC Programmatic Phases
Two Programmatic Phases:
1. Infrastructure Development (U76):
 Establishment of community-based AHEC centers.
 Initial development and implementation of
interdisciplinary/interprofessional, community-based
primary care training programs; and
 Health careers outreach to minority, disadvantaged, rural
students.
2. Point of Service Maintenance and Enhancement
(U77):
 Improving the effectiveness and capabilities of existing
AHEC programs and AHEC Centers.
 Adjusting the AHEC program to respond to the changing
demographics and health workforce needs of the state or
region served.
Eligibility
– Public or nonprofit private accredited schools of
allopathic medicine and osteopathic medicine
and incorporated consortia made up of such
schools, or the parent institutions of such
schools.
– In States and Territories in which no AHEC
program is in operation, an accredited school of
nursing is an eligible applicant.
AHEC Program Required Activities
A. Health Careers Recruitment, in coordination
with Workforce Investment Boards;
B. Community-based training and education, with
an emphasis on primary care, for the purpose
of developing and maintaining a diverse health
care workforce;
C. Field placements or preceptorships in
conjunction with community-based
organizations;
AHEC Program Required Activities
D. Interdisciplinary/interprofessional training
that emphasizes primary care;
E. Continuing education and information
dissemination programs for health care
professionals;
F. Program and outcomes measurement and
evaluation strategies;
G.Youth public health programming to expose
and recruit high school students into health
careers.
AHEC Performance Measures
AHEC Outputs
Most Recent Result *
No. of medical students trained in community sites in rural/underserved
areas
20,758
No. of associated health professions students trained in community sites
in rural/underserved areas
28,366
No. of training partnerships with community/migrant health centers and
other underserved area sites
7,910
No. of local providers receiving continuing education and employed in
medically underserved areas
54,056
No. of high school students (grades 9-12) participating in > 20 hours of
health career training and/or academic enhancement experience
19,038
* Most Recent Result: Academic Year 2010/2011
(unduplicated numbers)
AHEC Center Requirements
Each AHEC center:
 Must be a public or private organization, whose
structure, governance, and operation is
independent from the awardee, and the parent
institution of the awardee;
 Is not a school of medicine or osteopathic
medicine, the parent institution of such a school,
or a branch campus or subunit of the awardee or
its parent institution, or a consortium of such
entities;
AHEC Center Requirements
Each AHEC Center:
 Serves communities with a demonstrated
need of health professionals in partnership
with academic medical centers;
 Addresses the health care workforce needs
of the communities served in coordination
with the public workforce investment system;
and
 Has a community-based governing or
advisory board that reflects the diversity of
the communities served.
AHEC Center Requirements
• In an AHEC program, AHEC centers receive
75% of the Federal awards via contracts
negotiated with grantees.
• Each AHEC center in an AHEC program
may not receive the same amount of funds.
AHEC Collaborations
 Coordination with the Department of Labor &
Workforce Investment Boards
 Collaboration with BCRS
 National Health Service Corps
 NHSC Ambassadors Program
 SEARCH
 Health Careers Opportunity Program
 Bureau of Primary Health Care
 Community Health Centers/Federally Qualified Health
Centers, Migrant and Rural Health Clinics
 Office of Health Information Technology and Quality
AHEC Collaborations
• Veterans Mental & Behavioral Health Training
Initiative
(HRSA/BHPr/DPHIE-AHEC and SAMHSA)
 Focus: AHEC grantees and local providers serving
veterans and their families.
Contact Information
Mariquita G. Mullan, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Director, Division of Public Health &
Interdisciplinary Education
Bureau of Health Professions/HRSA
Phone: (301) 443-6758
E-mail: MMullan@hrsa.gov
Meseret Bezuneh, M.S.Ed .
Public Health Analyst/Project Officer
Phone: (301) 594-4149
E-mail: mbezuneh@hrsa.gov
Michelle Menser, MPH
Public Health Analyst/Project Officer
Phone (301) 443-6853
E-mail: mmenser@hrsa.gov
Louis Coccodrilli, MPH, Rph
Chief, AHEC Branch
Division of Public Health & Interdisciplinary
Education
Bureau of Health Professions/HRSA
Phone: (301) 443-7774
E-mail: lcoccodrilli@hrsa.gov
Norma J. Hatot, CAPT
Acting Chief, Public Health Branch
Division of Public Health &
Interdisciplinary Education
Bureau of Health Professions/HRSA
Phone: 301-443-2681
E-mail: nhatot@hrsa.gov
AHEC Branch
Main Telephone Number: 301-443-6950
Fax: 301-443-0157
Website: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/areahealtheducationcenters/index.html