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> Montana Area Health Education Centers
Montana Area Health Education Centers
Connecting student to careers, professionals to communities, and communities to better health
History
The AHEC program was developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. Grants to fund AHECs were always made to the medical school(s) within the states. The only exception to this has been the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSM). In this case, the federal government provided funding to the UWSM to start AHECs in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, all partners in the Regional WWAMI program.
On October 1st, 1985, the Montana AHEC was implemented. This regional WWAMI AHEC office was located at Montana State University in Bozeman. In September 2007, under new rules allowing Colleges of Nursing to apply for AHEC grants, the MSU College of Nursing applied and was awarded a grant from the Health Resource Service Administration to establish four regional AHEC offices in Montana in addition to the Bozeman Program Office.
In 2007, the first two centers were established. The South Central Regional AHEC was set up in Dillon under the auspices of the Montana Hospital Association and the Eastern Regional AHEC was set up in Billings at RiverStone Health. The Western Regional AHEC, located in Missoula and hosted by the University of Montana, was established in September 2008. In January 2010, the fourth and final center, the North Central Regional AHEC, was established in Cut Bank, Montana.
Once in place, each center has up to six years of funding that will total approximately $1.5 million. After six years of startup funding, the centers receive a more modest grant and are expected to be self-sufficient. Each region has a director/program manager, an established regional advisory council, and works to develop healthcare workforce strategies for their own region.
MT AHEC System Regional Map
Regional AHEC Contact Information
 123 S. 27th Street
Billings, MT 59101
406-247-3379
Director: Jane Nelson
 10 West Reeder - PO Box 872
Dillon, MT 59725
406.683.2790
Director: Lisa Benzel
 The University of Montana
Skaggs Building Rm. 173
Missoula, MT 59812
406-243-4746
Director: Larry White
 201 First Ave. N.
Fairfield, MT 59436
406-459-3792
Director: Jody Haines
Montana AHEC Mission
The mission of the Montana AHEC is "to improve the supply and distribution of heath care professionals, with an emphasis on primary care, through community/academic educational partnerships, to increase access to quality health care."
Goals, Objectives and Activities
The mission of the Montana AHEC is accomplished by pursuing goals, objectives and activities which are common to all AHECs. These are changed and/or modified each year in response to decisions made by the federal granting agency and the Regional WWAMI AHEC Program Office at the University of Washington School of Medicine. The following guidelines are used in establishing annual goals, objectives and activities.
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Form productive linkages between healthcare units to the benefit of underserved and rural communities.
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Foster and encourage collaborative community-based health programs.
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Increase the number of minority and underserved youth entering health education programs.
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Serve as a resource, clearinghouse and disseminatory of health information.
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Promote improved health and disease prevention through educational interventions.
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Respond to emerging community-based needs regarding health issues.
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Provide technical assistance on healthcare-related issues to underserved communities.
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Help implement collaborative community-based, multidisciplinary education and training for health professionals and health professions students.
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Contact
Kristin Juliar, Director
406-994-6003
kjuliar@montana.edu
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