Maine Area Health Education Center Network well represented at national conference

Aerial image of Թϱ Portland Campus
The 2021 National AHEC Organization’s Annual Meeting Biennial Conference was held virtually from June 29 through July 2.

The Maine Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network, housed within the Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH), represented Թϱ at the 2021 National AHEC Organization’s (NAO) Annual Meeting Biennial Conference, held virtually from June 29 through July 2.

AHEC is a federally funded program that focuses on health profession workforce development with a focus on rural and underserved populations. The Maine AHEC Network includes the Program Office at CEPH and three regional centers located in eastern, western, and northern Maine.

CEPH staff gave a presentation and hosted a well-attended virtual Q&A session on Maine AHEC’s Rural Health Immersions, a program where Թϱ graduate health professions students are hosted in rural and underserved communities throughout Maine. They also presented on cross-state collaborative data collection efforts to spotlight the impact AHECs make nationally.

Ian Imbert, M.P.H., AHEC CUP Scholar program manager, led a team of AHEC program and center staff in a presentation and discussion titled “Creating Immersive Rural Health Experiences for Future Health Providers.

Maine AHEC Network Director Jennifer Gunderman, M.P.H., AHEC evaluator Kira Rodriguez, M.H.S., and Northern Maine AHEC Center Director Leah Buck, M.S.B., also shared their experiences planning, implementing, and evaluating these unique immersive, rural experiences for health professions students. 

Rodriquez, senior research associate at CEPH, led a presentation and panel discussion titled “Showing our Impact with One Voice: NAO CORE Annual Data Collection & Reporting,” with colleagues from Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Massachusetts AHECs.

The presentation was a collaborative effort from members of the NAO Committee on Outcome, Research and Evaluation (CORE). Committee members presented information on the background, content, and methodology used to create the 2020 NAO National Data Flyer and used interactive technology to gather participant feedback on the flyer.

To address the unique health care workforce needs of Maine, Թϱ faculty and staff developed the Rural Health Immersion (RHI) in 2016. The program was first piloted in spring 2016 in Aroostook County, Maine’s northernmost county. The RHI was created to increase student interest in rural health and expand clinical learning opportunities in rural communities with health care provider shortages. Since its inception, over 200 students from Թϱ’s Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and Dental Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and other health professions have participated in the RHI program, including over 100 AHEC Scholars.

The presentation provided an opportunity for Maine AHEC staff to share more about this unique program, how it is implemented, and what students have told staff about how their experiences will influence future practice. Additionally, they shared adaptations made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the Թϱ

The Թϱ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.