What We Do
Since 2001, we have been working to diversify the healthcare workforce in Indiana and improve healthcare for all Hoosiers.
History & Overview
The Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train, and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. An AHEC is a network of regional centers that are coordinated through a central program office. There are approximately 55 AHEC programs with more than 300 centers, operating in almost every state.
Indiana AHEC Network was launched in 2001 by the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine. The first regional center, West Central Indiana AHEC, started in 2001 in Terre Haute. Our network has since grown to nine centers encompassing the entire state. Each regional center works to continually assess and meet the unique needs of communities within their region. Regional AHECs work together with partners in their region to help to connect students, healthcare organizations, and healthcare professionals with programming and clinical placements.
Our Mission
Indiana AHEC Network’s mission is to improve health by recruiting, educating and retaining health care professionals in underserved communities.
What do we do?
The Indiana AHEC Network enhances access to quality health care, primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of health care professionals through community/academic educational partnerships. We have four core functions: health careers promotion/pipeline programming, community-based education and clinical training, AHEC Scholars Program, and continuing education for health professionals. The Indiana AHEC Network also works to educate students, healthcare professionals, and our communities about emerging health topics, such as the opioid crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AHEC pathway was built with the goal of educating students about healthcare careers, supporting students through their education, and then continuing support once students graduate and enter the healthcare workforce. The hope is that AHEC students stay and practice in the state of Indiana in rural or underserved communities.
