AHEC

Area Health Education Centers Program of Tennessee

AHEC History

In 1971, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education issued a landmark report entitled, "Higher Education and the Nation's Health", advocating educational incentives and regionalized training programs to address the specialty and geographic maldistribution of health professionals in urban and rural regions of the country. Based upon the Carnegie Commission's recommendations, Congress established the national Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program the following year.

AHEC Mission

The mission of AHEC is to improve the supply and distribution of health care professionals-with an emphasis on primary care-in urban and rural Tennessee to increase the provision of and access to culturally appropriate, quality helath care and decrease disparities among disadvantaged and underserved populations.

Program Goals

The goals of the AHEC program are to:

• Establish productive linkages between academic health centers, health professionals, community-based organizations, and consumers to the benefit of underserved and rural populations.
• Identify local health needs and responses through community input and participation.
• Promote health and prevent disease through culutrally appropriate interventions.
• Increase the number of underrepresented, low income and racial/ethnic minorities entering helath education programs.
• Implement inter-disciplinary, continuing education and training for health professionals.