It’s National AHEC Week this week – a time to show off what we do and advocate for ways to promote and strengthen the health care workforce in underserved areas.

Created by Congress in 1971, the Area Health Education Centers program was developed to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. Administered by the Health Resource Services Administration, AHECs are federally funded, and many are also supported by state governments, foundations, or other partners.

The mission of the HRSA’s AHEC program is to enhance access to quality health care, particularly primary and preventive care, by improving the supply and distribution of health professionals through community-academic educational partnerships.

There are AHECs are in nearly every state and in multiple U.S. territories, with some 300 nationwide.

Illinois’ AHEC program is administered by the National Center for Rural Health Professions, with the main program office based in Rockford and an urban program office at the UIC School of Public Health in Chicago. The NCRHP works with nine regional AHEC centers that make up the Illinois AHEC Network. Illinois AHEC’s work draws on the Rural Medical Education program and the Urban Medicine Program, which provide unrivaled opportunities for those aspiring to work in in areas of acute need.

AHEC’s flagship program, AHEC Scholars, was implemented in 2018. It provides supplemental education to health professions students that focuses on key topics such as cultural competency and emerging health issues.

If you are among those involved in AHEC-related advocacy activities or celebrations this week, use the hashtag #AHECweek2024 when sharing your content on social media.