The Arizona Community Health Education Center (AzAHEC) program at the Arizona University of Health Sciences recently selected the Arizona Advisory Board on Health Care in India to launch a new initiative dedicated to developing health professional education initiatives and expanding access to health care. Developed the American Indian Health AHEC Regional Center. For Arizona Tribal Communities.
The new American Indian Health (AIH) AHEC Regional Center will be the sixth AHEC Regional Center in Arizona. He is one of the first in the state and one of the few facilities in the United States outside of Alaska to be dedicated to the Native American health care system and its workforce.
According to the Indian Health Service, American Indians have some of the highest rates of health inequalities, poverty, and poor health compared to other ethnic and minority communities in the United States.
According to the Indian Health Service, American Indians have some of the highest rates of health inequalities, poverty, and poor health compared to other ethnic and minority communities in the United States. “Arizona tribes are experiencing a severe shortage of medical professionals compared to other parts of the state. Leila Barraza, JD, MPH, Director of the AzAHEC Program and Associate Professor of Community, Environment and Policy at Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. “By working closely with our tribal health systems and enhancing our current workforce strategies, the new American Indian Community Health Center can begin to alleviate some of these shortfalls.”
The mission of the AzAHEC program is to “improve the supply and distribution of health professionals through educational partnerships of academic communities in rural and urban health underserved areas, thereby contributing to quality health care, especially primary and preventive health care.” to strengthen access to
The AIH-AHEC Regional Center will collaborate with San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation and Gila River Health Care to conduct education and training activities to improve the supply and distribution of health care professionals within tribal communities.
The AIH-AHEC Regional Center builds the future health workforce by providing community-based health professional rotation, supporting continuing education, supporting medical staff, and facilitating medical careers for K-12 students. Helps you build.
“The center will expose children and young people to the health care professions from an early age and pursue those professions with the knowledge and cultural competencies that are critical to directly impacting the health of their communities. We host countless programs that enable us to be empowered,” said Kim Russell, Director of the Arizona Advisory Board on Indian Healthcare. “Others in Arizona, he is uniquely positioned to address disparities in partnership with his five AHEC Regional Centers, the University of Arizona, AzAHEC Program Leaders, and all health professional resources.”
It also hosts the AHEC Scholars Program. It provides community-based experiential training for students in rural and underserved settings.
In addition, AIH-AHEC Regional Centers conduct training and guide individuals to become health care providers serving their home communities. The partners plan to adopt a “grow your own” strategy to address the shortage of health professionals and reduce health disparities in tribal communities in Arizona.
“The AIH-AHEC Regional Center is one of the first in the United States outside of Alaska and is fully aligned with AHEC’s mission of being an integral part of the university and the Arizona community for nearly 40 years.” Dan Dirksen, M.D.Vice President of Health Equity, Outreach and Interprofessional Activities at UArizona Health Sciences, Director of the Center for Rural Health at UArisona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Senior Advisor and Principal Investigator at UAHS AzAHEC Program.
AIC-AHEC joins five existing AHEC Regional Centers in Arizona.
- Central Arizona AHEC is part of the Arizona Alliance of Community Health Centers in Phoenix, representing a system of 23 community health centers in Arizona’s 175 locations, and serves as Arizona’s primary care association.
- The Colorado Plateau Center for Health Professions is housed in Flagstaff’s North Country Healthcare, with federally accredited health center sites throughout Northern Arizona counties.
- Grove-based Eastern Arizona AHEC.
- Southern Arizona AHEC housed at El Rio Health, which has 14 FQHC sites in Pima County.
- AHEC in Western Arizona are housed at the Regional Border Health Center in Somerton.
In fiscal 2022, the AzAHEC program will work with Arizona’s five existing AHEC regional centers and nine rural health professions programs to deliver 2,983 community-based experiences to Arizona’s 1,527 health profession students. Provided a type training rotation. In FY2021, the AzAHEC program provided 10% of the total rotation offered by all 56 of his AHEC programs in the country.
Congress approved the federal AHEC program in 1971. There are 56 AHEC programs and 236 regional centers in 47 states.