About Northwest AHEC

The world is changing, but our mission of serving the healthcare needs of the community has remained constant

Our scholarship recipients pose with their award certificates and checks.Host organization: Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital (also known as “KSB” in our community) is a nonprofit, independent healthcare provider located in Dixon. Although the world has changed since it first opened its doors in 1897, KSB’s mission of serving the health care needs of the community has remained constant. KSB has grown and evolved into an acute care hospital with a multispecialty physician group and a regional network of primary care clinics. Each year brings reinvestment in technology, facilities and our employees in order to continue to meet the changing healthcare needs of our hometowns.

Area opportunities: We work with community colleges, hospitals and the University of Illinois Extension to provide our participants with opportunities for career exploration and promotion and continuing education. Hospitals in the region offer a variety of experiences, from shadowing, to screenings, to learning what it takes to actually run a large healthcare facility. The region is host to 22 hospitals and numerous ancillary health care facilities.

Community partners: Our strategic partners including public health departments, community colleges, and the University of Illinois Extension as well as public health departments across the region. Public health departments serve a variety of functions, many of which surprise our students, who help with health screenings, health initiatives in schools, maternal/child visits, and more. The U of I Extension is the source of numerous learning activities, from child health initiatives where students might assist with a health activity in a school to community gardens where they might help provide nutrition education for gardeners. We also work with Highland Community College, Sauk Valley Community College Freeport HOYA (Health Occupations Youth Apprenticeship), and the Whiteside Area Career Center.

Demographics: The region, home to approximately 775,000, is predominately rural and overwhelmingly White. Winnebago County, which includes Illinois’ third largest city, has a significant minority population. Household income is close to the state average, with four counties experiencing mildly elevated rates of childhood poverty. Only one county has significantly high unemployment.

The Winnebago County Coroner tells students about his work.Local health challenges: Most of counties perform well in life expectancy, quality of life, and general health factor measures. One county showed multiple signs of distress, and six reported serious environmental challenges. In all counties, residents reported large numbers of physically and mentally unhealthy days. Smoking rates are elevated in all counties. Residents in eight counties struggle with obesity; in 12, rates of physical inactivity are higher than the state average and residents reported opportunities to exercise are uncommon. The region includes the county with the highest opioid mortality rate in Illinois.

Our programs: Our programs and activities bring participants in touch in a practical way with health care in our underserved communities. Take a look.

A narrow defile at Starved Rock State Park.Our region: Northwest Illinois is home to Rockford, the state’s third largest city, and a longtime manufacturing center. No other part of the state has such striking terrain around Galena and the steep sandstone canyons and waterfalls of Starved Rock, formed by glacial meltwater. Our many historic sites include the boyhood homes of Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan, and the original blacksmith shop where John Deere invented the first steel plow. Many areas are protected and preserved, so those preferring nature to history can see bison roaming in the grasslands or eagles soaring over the Mississippi River.

Detail map of Northwest region

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Advisory Board