WA AHEC
THE MISSION:
The Washington Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program, in the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Office of Rural Programs, works to improve the diversity, distribution, and quality of the healthcare workforce in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. The WA AHEC program relies on partnerships with affiliated AHEC program offices in Montana, Idaho, and Alaska as well as clinics and communities in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (the “WWAMI” states). WA AHEC promotes health career pathways, creates healthcare educational opportunities for students from junior high school through professional and post-graduate training, and supports health care providers working with rural and underserved populations.
THE HISTORY:
The Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho Area Health Education Center (WWAMI AHEC) Program Office of the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine (UWSOM) began its collaborative work with AHEC Centers in Washington, Wyoming, and Idaho and its affiliated Program Offices in Alaska and Montana starting in the mid-1980s. The WA AHEC has been, and continues to be, an integral part of the larger UWSOM WWAMI program, a 40+ year old medical education program serving the five states. WA AHEC shares the mission and resources with the UWSOM WWAMI program to improve the quality and distribution of all health professionals in our mostly rural region. Today, WA AHEC Centers are Eastern Washington AHEC in Spokane, WA; Central Washington AHEC in Wenatchee, and Southwest Washington AHEC in Olympia.
HOW WE WORK:
The Washington AHEC Program office is part of the UWSOM Office of Rural Programs and resides on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus. The three affiliated programs, the Montana AHEC Program Office at Montana State University, the Idaho AHEC Program office at Idaho State University, and the Alaska Program Office at the University of Alaska, comprise the AHEC program offices in the WWAMI States. The Montana AHEC has 5 Centers, and the Alaska AHEC has 6 Centers. The AHECs have locally representative boards of directors or advisory committees, and each Program Office has a regionally representative Advisory Board.