Nevada Area Health Education Centers

This program, with an administrative office in Reno at CEHSO, and Center offices in Elko-the Northeastern Nevada Center, Las Vegas-the Southern Nevada Center, and a new Center in Reno-the High Sierra Center, was initiated with a federal grant in 1986. AHEC centers serve as the bridge between the Academic Medical Center and the community. The central twofold mission of the program is to provide education and training experiences to health professions students in areas of medical need with shortages of personnel, with an ultimate goal of affecting the distribution of health care practitioners to these medically needy areas. The second mission is to assist in the provision of medical knowledge and resources to practicing health care practitioners in assisting them in their knowledge base and in their retention to medically needy areas.

Additional program focuses include health careers recruitment, minority health careers recruitment, development and coordination of distance education programs. The resource, in particular, reduces isolation, enhances clinical standards of practice, provides AHEC provides the educational tools for rotating students and residents, and links the health care community with the School of Medicine. AHEC provides Continuing Education and Continuing Medical Education programs each year to Nevada’s health care practitioners. All programs are designed predicated on community needs assessments and are provided in community settings that defray the need for professionals to leave their communities if possible. Additionally, min-residency training is developed and coordinated by AHEC for practitioners expressing a need to upgrade or acquire certain clinical skills.

AHEC’s latest leadership role is in Distance Education and Telemedicine. Internet connections via computer to link rural communities to a nationwide network of libraries and information resources, provide compressed video systems to allow two-way audio communication between students and teachers, and satellite down-link to rural sites. AHEC has provided the lead coordination for rural site development including the important contributions made by local facilities and other partners such as the Nevada Rural Hospital Project.