Mission Statement

The mission of AHEC of Rhode Island is to foster academic/training/community collaborations that benefit the public by improving the supply and distribution of a high quality, culturally sensitive, interdisciplinary work force that transcends barriers and supplies even the most vulnerable of people with the care they deserve.

It is a testament to Brown’s commitment to preparing doctors to meet the challenges of the future that there is an Area Health Education Center in Rhode Island. Trends in Rhode Island mirror the changing cultural and ethnic diversity apparent across the United States. Socioeconomic barriers have assumed a position of pre-eminence as people of all cultures attempt to achieve comfort and safety for their families. Health care and the training of health care providers have become central to the sense of well being shared by our community.

In 1970, a report from the Carnegie Commission recommended the development of a nationwide system of Area Health Education Centers. These centers were meant to improve the supply, distribution, diversity and quality of the health workforce, ultimately increasing access to health care in medically underserved areas. Funding followed with an act of Congress in 1972, and the job of forming academic-community partnerships that train health care providers in sites and programs that are responsive to State and local needs was initiated. This new agenda emphasized health career enhancement and recruitment programs for K-12 students.

AHECs accomplish their goal by linking the resources of university health science centers with local planning, educational and clinical resources. This network of health-related institutions provides multidisciplinary educational services to students, faculty and local practitioners, ultimately improving health care delivery in medically underserved areas.

The AHEC program is a long-term initiative, requiring major changes both in the traditional method of training medical and other health professions students and in the relationship between university health science centers and community health service delivery systems.

Today, a total of 54 AHEC Programs and 215 affiliated AHEC Centers are operating in 48 States and the District of Columbia. Kansas, North Dakota and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico do not have AHEC Programs or AHEC Centers

• Train 37,000 health professions students (17,000 medical students and 20,000 other health professions students) in community-based sites.
• Work with approximately 1,500 federally-funded community and migrant health center sites and other underserved area sites, 800 health departments and 180 National Health Service Corps sites.
• Provide health career enhance and recruitment activities of 20 hours or more to 42,000 students grade 9 to 12.
• Provide continuing education to 315,000 local health care providers.