Southeast PA AHEC Newsletter

Fall 2019

Welcome Pennsylvania AHEC Scholars!

SE PA AHEC is excited to announce that 16 students in the southeast region have been selected for the competitive Pennsylvania AHEC Scholars program. AHEC Scholars is a nationwide interprofessional program for health professions students with an interest in serving rural and/or underserved communities.

The scholars from the Southeast Pennsylvania region had a chance to meet earlier this month and participate in a self-reflective activity about professional identity. The selected students come from five universities in the region and are enrolled in a variety of health majors, including nursing, pharmacy, nutrition, respiratory care, and public health. Along with other AHEC scholars around the state, the students will spend two years participating in extracurricular didactic learning, clinical observation, and a community-based project. 

HPV Immunization Education

SE PA AHEC has been a proud part of the National AHEC Organization’s (NAO) HPV Immunization Project. With a 5-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the NAO has been able to provide “You Are The Key To HPV Cancer Prevention” training to healthcare professionals and students in all 50 states.

Earlier this year, SE PA AHEC was awarded funding to implement a special project with trade schools in New Jersey. Partnering with Lincoln Technical Institute, SE PA AHEC trained 229 medical assistant, practical nurse, and patient care technician students and faculty. In addition, SE PA AHEC provided training to clinicians and students in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Archived webinars are available on the National AHEC Organization's website, found here. 

You can also access a free self-study course to earn continuing education credits by clicking the button below.

NCIBH Collaboration On Nationwide Survey

SE PA AHEC recently utilized its nationwide AHEC network to distribute a brief electronic survey designed to assess the National Center for Integrated Behavioral Health’s (NCIBH) reach around the country. AHECs provide training to primary care health professionals and health professional students in every state, which make them ideal partners for the NCIBH community to help enhance primary care provider training. 

The survey was emailed to 600 individuals, including AHEC organizations, across the county, NAO members in other states, and NAO executive directors. The responses came from geographically diverse areas with a 48% representation rate of the country and demonstrated a strong interest in integrated behavioral health training and implementation. SE PA AHEC plans to use this information to help increase implementation of NCIBH resources by AHECs and partners across the U.S.

A word from our new Executive Director- Christine Polit

Greetings friends of SE PA AHEC!  I am honored to be part of an organization that supports the medical needs of underserved communities by growing and supporting the current and future primary care workforce in Southeast Pennsylvania.

In my first months as Executive Director, I've had the pleasure of meeting our committed board of directors, our hardworking staff, the members of our AHEC Program Office in Hershey, PA, our partners at the Lewis Katz Temple University School of Medicine, and many of our partner organizations and volunteer preceptors. I am impressed with everyone's dedication to our core mission of increasing access to care for the underserved.  I look forward to growing our existing collaborations and continuing to develop additional opportunities in the community.  

SE PA AHEC Staff Attend Community Health Worker Training 

In October, SE PA AHEC staff attended a training for a Community Health Worker Program developed by the East Central PA AHEC. As the state of Pennsylvania works towards creating a certification for community health workers, the Pennsylvania AHECs plan to work together to offer training across the state. If you are interested in learning more about the Pennsylvania AHEC Community Health Worker program, please contact Liz Kiefer at ekiefer@sepaahec.org. 

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