About AHEC
Hosted by Purdue University Northwest’s College of Nursing, NWI AHEC strives to establish educational, recruitment and outreach programs, interprofessional collaborations and professional training in eight counties of Northwest Indiana: Lake, Porter, LaPorte, St. Joseph, Starke, Marshall, Newton and Jasper.
What the Heck Is AHEC?
The AHEC (Area Health Education Center) program was developed by Congress, in 1971, to recruit, train and retain a health profession workforce committed to providing care, for underserved populations, in urban and rural communities. AHEC is a nonprofit organization funded by federal and state grants.
Explore the Indiana AHEC Network
The “Baby Boomers” are rapidly approaching retirement age. When this generation is no longer part of our workforce, many job vacancies will be created causing a huge shortage in healthcare fields throughout the US.
There is concern for the lack of trained professionals to fill the vacancies and as this large population ages, their need for medical care increases. There simply will not be enough healthcare professionals to meet the growing needs of this aging population.
The lack of diversity is another issue to consider among healthcare providers. Most often people are more comfortable interacting with cultures and backgrounds, similar to their own. Language barriers are often a problem in communicating ailments and receiving treatment or proper care.
Therefore, there is need to increase the number of students going into health careers and the diversity of students entering these fields. It is extremely important to the health and well-being of our society.
Lastly, rural communities are faced with challenges accessing health care, such as long distance travel, shortage of healthcare workers and the impact of socioeconomic factors.
AHEC focuses on providing exposure, education, and training for current and future health care professionals. This is accomplished by developing and maintaining academic and building community partnerships.
Today, the national AHEC network consists of more than 300 AHEC program offices and centers, operating in almost every state and the District of Columbia. AHECs are embedded in the communities they serve, which positions them, to respond rapidly to local and regional healthcare issues and the emergent training needs of health professionals, health professions students, and interprofessional teams.
AHEC’s work collaboratively with approximately, 120 medical schools and 600 nursing and allied health schools, to improve health for underserved and under-represented populations.
NWI AHEC Mission
To increase diversity, distribution and quality of health care providers for underserved populations in the urban and rural communities.
NWI AHEC Goals
To provide educational and training programs to help increase the healthcare workforce in underserved and rural communities. This is accomplished by:
NWI AHEC provides educational programming for students in grades 8-12, todevelop a workforce pipeline in the health care field, with a focus on students in urban and rural communities.
- Classroom presentations
- Health fair exhibits
- Teaching models and resources
- Fieldtrips and shadowing experiences
- Summer camps and enrichment programs for students
NWI AHEC engages students enrolled in health profession programs, by providing experiences and exposure within the underserved urban and rural communities.
- AHEC Scholars Fellowship Program
- Establishing clinical rotation sites in underserved areas
- Facilitating cultural awareness activities
- Providing opportunities for service learning through volunteering and being role models for youth
NWI AHEC provides support for professionals currently practicing,in the health care field by assisting with resources, access to technology and continuing education opportunities for practitioners working in urban or rural under-served communities.
- Promoting links and resources to current information on best practices
- Promoting continuing education programs
- Sponsoring attendance at conferences
- Assisting preceptors of health profession students
Contact Us
Beverly Ann Lewis
Associate Director, NWI Area Health Education Center
(219) 989-2365
NWI AHEC Advisory Board
NWI AHEC’s advisory board represents professionals in health care, education, workforce development and community organizations.
- Tonya Aerts, Biomedical Sciences instructor, New Prairie High School – New Carlisle
- Heather Bowers, Visiting Assistant Professor, Purdue University Northwest – Hammond
- Britney Bynum, President AB Lab Diagnostics – Merrillville
- Raquel Castro, Community Health Worker Research Assistant, Purdue University Northwest – Hammond
- Don Donahue, Owner, inHealth Integrated Care – Valparaiso
- Jennifer Felke, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director, North Central CTE Cooperative – Plymouth
- Joyce Fillenwarth, Office of Rural Health Manager, Indiana Department of Health – Indianapolis
- Julie Gardner, Assistant Dean, University of St. Francis – Crown Point
- Kim Genovese
- Jennifer Hippie, Clinical Associate Professor of Field Instruction and Coordination, Indiana University Northwest – Gary
- Donna Krause, Assistant Dean, CHHS, Program Director Dental Education, Indiana University Northwest – Gary
- Lorna Marcus, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Ivy Tech Community College – Valparaiso
- Rondi Wightman, Clinical Social Work/Therapist, Progressions Counseling, Hobart/Valparaiso