The Arizona Area Health Education Center (AzAHEC) Program at the University of Arizona Health Sciences https://healthsciences.arizona.edu recently selected the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care to develop the new American Indian AHEC Regional Center.
The new American Indian Health (AIH) AHEC Regional Center will be the sixth AHEC Regional Center in Arizona. It will be one of few in the U.S outside of Alaska to focus exclusively on the American Indian healthcare system and their workforce.
American Indians have some of the highest rates of health disparities, poverty, and poor health outcomes when compared with other ethnic and minority communities in the U.S reports the Indian Health Service.
The mission of the AzAHEC Program is to enhance access to quality healthcare particularly primary and preventive care. The goal is to improve the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals through academic community educational partnerships in rural and urban medical underserved areas.
In collaboration with the San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation and Gila River Health Care, the AIH-AHEC Regional Center will implement educational and training activities to improve the supply and distribution of healthcare professionals within tribal communities
The AIH-AHEC Regional Center will help build a future healthcare workforce by providing community-based health professional rotations, assisting with continuing education, supporting healthcare staff, and promoting healthcare careers for K-12 students.
The Center will also host an AHEC Scholars program to offer students community-based experiential training in rural or underserved settings. In addition, the AIH-AHEC Regional Center will conduct training and coach individuals to become healthcare providers serving in their home communities.