Area Health Education Center Program
Visit North Dakota AHEC's website: www.ndahec.org
Structure
The North Dakota Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is made up of three distinct yet collaborative entities. The North Dakota AHEC Program Office resides within (and works to be an essential part of) the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences. The Program Office manages statewide budget and evaluation for Health Resources and Services Administration AHEC Grant # U77HP26849, North Dakota AHEC's principal funding source. The two regional centers, Eastern North Dakota AHEC in Mayville, and Western North Dakota AHEC in Hettinger, are affiliated with Mayville State University, and are subcontracted to facilitate programs that enhance the quality, number and diversity of the healthcare workforce in North Dakota, with emphasis on rural communities and underserved populations.
Purpose
North Dakota AHEC's purpose is to facilitate a statewide education and training network composed of communities, academic institutions, state agencies, and community-based organizations. This collaborative effort seeks to increase diversity among health professionals, broaden the distribution of the health workforce, enhance healthcare quality, promote interprofessional practice, and improve healthcare delivery to rural and underserved areas and populations. Membership in the National AHEC Organization helps enable North Dakota AHEC to fulfill this purpose.
Programming
Programming reaches communities in all corners of the state and serves any/all professional healthcare programs in North Dakota. Programs include: AHEC Scholars Program, with emphasis on team-based care in rural and underserved settings; financial support for Rural Clinical Placements; expanding K12 students' awareness of healthcare careers (e.g. North Dakota HOSA); community level trainings on current healthcare topics; and North Dakota AHEC collaborates to be resource center, pointing to professional development opportunities – from a variety of sources – for the state's current professional healthcare workforce.
North Dakota Counties by AHEC Region
Eastern AHEC counties include:
- Barnes
- Benson
- Cass
- Cavalier
- Dickey
- Eddy
- Emmons
- Enderlin
- Grand Forks
- Griggs
- Kidder
- LaMoure
- Logan
- McIntosh
- Nelson
- Pembina
- Pierce
- Ramsey
- Richland
- Rolette
- Sargent
- Steele
- Stutsman
- Towner
- Traill
- Walsh
- Wells
Western AHEC counties include:
- Adams
- Beach
- Billings
- Bottineau
- Bowman
- Burke
- Burleigh
- Divide
- Dunn
- Grant
- Hettinger
- McHenry
- McKenzie
- McLean
- Mercer
- Morton
- Mountrail
- Oliver
- Renville
- Sheridan
- Sioux
- Slope
- Stark
- Ward
- Williams