East Texas AHEC Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

1. East Texas AHEC Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

2. If you lived in a place where there were not enough physicians, nurses, or other health care professionals, you would welcome an Area Health Education Center (AHEC) to serve your community.

3. AHECs are Academic and Community partnerships, striving to improve the supply, distribution, diversity and quality of the health workforce, ultimately increasing access to healthcare in medically underserved areas.

4. AHEC Structure Program Officedirected by School of Medicine/Osteopathy or their parent institution • coordinates grant/fiscal management, reporting, planning, campus activities, and development Local Centers guided by local boards in accordance with contract scope of work • conduct local needs assessment, plan/collaborate design of education activities, implement community-level activities, assist in evaluating outcomes

5. The AHEC Network

6. Panhandle AHECof the Plains Prairie LakeCountry DFW Big Country Permian Basin Brazos BigBend PineyWoods Capital Coastal WinterGardenBorder GreaterHouston Alamo PecanValley Coastal Mid Rio Grande Border South Coastal Rio Grande Valley Texas AHEC’s WEST TEXAS AHEC 105 COUNTIES 8 YEARS Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Lubbock SOUTH TEXAS AHEC 38 COUNTIES 18 YEARS The University of Texas Health Science Centerat San Antonio EAST TEXAS AHEC 111 COUNTIES 17 YEARS The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

7. 9 Regions, 111 Counties 17 million people 6 3 8 Regional Centers 1- Coastal 2- Piney Woods 3- Lake Country 4- Pecan Valley 2 7 3 5 9 1 5 5- Greater Houston 6- Prairie 7- Brazos 8- DFW 9- Capital 4 Program Office Based at the University of Texas Medical BranchGalveston, Texas East Texas AHEC

8. VISION Optimal health for all people in our region MISSION Improve the health of our communities by developing a quality health workforce and helping address unmet health needs.

9. Our Center Directors say: "It has become common knowledge that access to healthcare is a problem.  But now the time has come to roll up our sleeves and truly work collaboratively to change this inequality.  It will take the efforts of us all to make a dent in this problem.“ Leslie Hargrove, Coastal AHEC “AHEC’s are known by their collaborative nature and capability to merge different entities together for a common goal. With AHEC, community collaboration is not a goal; it is a way of life.” Robynn Michalka, Pecan Valley AHEC “A diverse healthcare workforce is an essential component of quality care. It is our job to find and nurture the individuals from our communities who will add to the diversity of the workforce and, in turn, care for an increasingly diverse community.” Lori Schell, DFW AHEC

10. Community-Based Education Health Literacy Community Health Systems Health Career Promotions Practice Entry and Support WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT What we do? Allied Health Schools • Community Agencies • Community Churches • Community Hospitals • Community Colleges • Community Health Departments • Community Healthcare Providers • Community Organizations • Community Independent School Districts • Medical Schools •Nursing Schools

11. Health Literacy Community Health Systems WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT Health Career Promotions Community- Based Education Practice Entry and Support Attract and educate under-represented and disadvantaged individuals, and prepare them for health professions through health career awareness activities.

12. Classroom Presentations • After School Programs • Career Fairs • Summer Camps • Individual career guidance • Professional shadowing • Health center tours • Mentorship experiences Health Career Promotions

13. Resources • H.O.T. Jobs Careers Directory • Health Careers poster • Financial aid database • Career inventory and assessments • http://www.etxahec.org/hcp/index.htm Health Career Promotions

14. East Texas AHEC Partner Schools Outcomes - 2007 Placed priority on underrepresented and disadvantaged populations • 27,162 student contacts • 2,270 students in enrichment programs • 379 primary and secondary schools • 665 Teachers / 208 Counselors in Health Careers Training and Support Health Career Promotions

15. Health Literacy Community Health Systems WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT Community- Based Education Practice Entry and Support Health Career Promotions Establish, maintain, and advocate community-based training for health professions students, with an emphasis on primary care and underserved populations.

16. Support students in community • community faculty recruitment • learning resources • community integration • site management • housing assistance Community-Based Education

17. Community Faculty • Support 540 community faculty • outstanding community faculty recognition • teaching skills development • information resources • coordinate student scheduling Community-Based Education

18. Outcomes – 2007 • Placed 802 students • 219,761 training hours • 18 different disciplines from 39 campuses Community-Based Education

19. East Texas AHEC CBE Sites Outcomes - 2007 • Coordinated 936 CBE sites Community-Based Education

20. Health Literacy Community Health Systems WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT Practice Entry and Support Community- Based Education Health Career Promotions Establish and support programs that recruit and retain health professionals for underserved populations.

21. Recruitment assistance • Continuing education • Practice support • Information supportservices Practice Entry and Support

22. Outcomes - 2007 • 239 sponsored / co-sponsored events • 5,564 participants in onsite CE • 888 program hours • 15 at-risk primary care practice sites received Practice Management Technical Assistance • Internet pathway information support • Library reference services Practice Entry and Support

23. Community- Based Education Practice Entry and Support Health Career Promotions WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT Health Literacy Community Health Systems Foster healthy behavior development in individuals, groups, and communities

24. Practice Cancer Prevention • Pediatric and adult immunization • Diabetes management education • Cancer prevention and control • Tobacco cessation • Healthy community alliances • Individual events • Domestic violence Health Literacy

25. Outcomes - 2007 • Increased health education programming through 907 health education projects/programs • 57,430 participants Health Literacy

26. Community- Based Education Practice Entry and Support Health Career Promotions WORKFORCEDEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HEALTH SUPPORT Community Health Systems Health Literacy Facilitate community evaluation, discussion, and decision-making processes addressing access to primary health care

27. Assistance with • Assessing local health system • Community planning • Management guidance • Clinical services outreach • Ancillary support services to local professionals and facilities • Hospital district consolidation Community Health Systems

28. Outcomes - 2007 • Expanded capacity for conducting community assessment and community development activities • Initiated 313 community health system support projects Community Health Systems

29. AHEC Fiscal Plan • Originated in 1991 with USDHHS funds - 17 yrs of eligibility • Transition to state funds for core AHEC functions, now in second biennium • Special project-focused funds

30. Fiscal Notes • 94% of federal AHEC grant funds go to center contracts • Over 50% of state funds go to center contracts • Centers must transition over 6 years to non-federal support • Centers are encouraged to pursue other funding options for community-focused activities

31. Corollary Projects Nurse Friendly Program A Program to Enhance Patient Care and the Retention of Nurses • provide no-cost consultation and technical assistance to small/rural hospitals using TNA-developed nurse-friendly criteria Collaborating with Texas Nurses Association, West Texas AHEC and South Texas AHEC Funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and Bureau of Health Professions (BHP) Division of Nursing

32. Overall Program Outcomes • Thousands of students and professionals supported through education outreach • Dozens of communities benefiting from service projects • Partnered with communities and academic collaborators, including all 8 of the state’s health science centers and over 2,900 organizations and institutions

33. What we hear… “I can't thank you enough for the beautiful execution of the festival on Saturday. It may be ‘A Small World’ but your job was HUGE.” Penni Gietz, (Children’s Discovery Museum, Victoria, Texas) in response to AHEC’s involvement in the medical industry exhibit for their annual fund raiser. "We appreciate you (Brazos AHEC) coming out to Mexia.  Usually we have to drive to Dallas for our CEs.  Thanks" Nurse at a CNE event in Mexia, TX “This HIPAA training has been invaluable.  I would have never been able to find all these resources on my own”  2004 HIPAA Training attendee “AHEC is indispensable to the effort of educating the public on pressing health issues.” Alfredo Coy, Associate Director, Center for Public Service, University of North Texas

34. We have identified 1,093 health professionals(cumulative)added to our regionafter an “AHEC Touch.”

35. East Texas AHEC Provides health workforce development and healthcare access support from a community-based infrastructure.