The week of March 27–31, 2023, has been set aside to celebrate the AHEC mission of strengthening the nation’s health care workforce.

Here is a quick overview of a program that you may only know about parts of, based on your involvement or interests.

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. The AHEC program helps bring the resources of academic medicine to address local community health needs. It is an important part of the nation’s health workforce development infrastructure.

Working through academic and community partnerships, AHECs develop and train a diverse healthcare workforce prepared to deliver culturally appropriate, high-quality, team-based care, with an emphasis on primary care for rural and underserved populations.

The nation’s 300 AHECs are in nearly every state and in multiple U.S. territories. Administered by the Health Resource Services Administration, AHECs are federally funded, and many are also supported by state governments, foundations, or other partners.

AHECs are known for engaging future health professions in programming such as health career camps, shadowing experiences, academic enrichment, and networking opportunities. Once students enter their program of study, many AHECs facilitate rural student clinical rotations.

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.

National AHEC Week is a time when AHEC advocates to connect with their members of Congress in support of the program. Local AHEC centers take advantage of this special week to spotlight their students, preceptors, staff, and programs in social media presence or by emailing content to partners and contacts.

If you are among those involved in AHEC-related advocacy activities or celebrations this week, use the hashtag #AHECweek2023 when sharing your content on social media.