Rural Education Excellence Center officially joins Arizona Community Health Education Center Program From July 1st at Arizona Health Sciences University.
CERE-AHEC is one of six regional health education centers in the Arizona area. The mission of the Arizona AHEC Program is to improve the supply and placement of health care professionals through academic and community educational partnerships in underserved areas, thereby advancing quality health care, particularly primary and preventive care. to strengthen access to Federal Community Health Education Center Program. More than 3.3 million Arizonas live in health worker shortage areas as defined by the Department of Health Resources and Services.
“We look forward to working with the Center for Excellence in Rural Education to achieve great results,” he said. Dr. Daniel Dirksen, Senior Advisor and Principal Investigator of the AzAHEC Program and Vice President of Health Equity, Outreach and Interprofessional Activities at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. “The Arizona AHEC program works with community-based collaborators, and we have a great new partner in this part of Arizona.”
Based in Grove, Arizona, Cerea Heck It serves Gila, Graham, and Greenlee counties. CERE’s parent organization, MHA Foundation The Payson, Arizona, organization has been supporting health, healthcare, and education in rural Gila County since 1958 when it was known as the Mogollon Health Alliance.
“We are very proud to partner not only with the Arizona University of Health Sciences, but with communities in three counties to help young adults meet critical needs of the medical community,” said CERE-AHEC Director. Jennifer Smith, MBA, MS, CPed. “Having spent most of my career as a rural clinical educator, I take an empathetic approach to the profession from both a clinical and educational perspective, as well as a student perspective.”
Since 1984, the Arizona Community Health Education Center Program has served the state through the recruitment, training, and retention of health care workers in rural and underserved communities. In addition to the six regional centers located throughout the state, the AzAHEC program is affiliated with his nine local health professional programs at his three public universities in the state, as well as various graduate medical education programs.
“The Eastern Arizona region really has a wealth of opportunities for medical students,” he said. Leila Barraza, JD, MPHDirector of the AzAHEC Program and Associate Professor of Community, Environment and Policy. Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. “We are very excited about the opportunities our students will have to rotate in this area and work in this part of the state.”
During the 2021-2022 academic year, the AzAHEC program included 1,531 medical professional trainees representing more than 40 colleges and training programs, who participated in more than 450,000 hours of community-based clinical and experiential training nationwide. . Through AzAHEC Regional Centers, nearly 4,500 healthcare professionals have attended continuing education and professional development events, and nearly 1,000 of his K-12 students have participated in structured healthcare career pathway programs.
