The Hawaiʻi/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) strives to provide recruitment, placement, and retention activities to address community, state, and regional health workforce needs, performing health and health workforce needs assessments and improving distance learning and telehealth utilization. There are four primary activity areas:
Our GOAL is to facilitate access to an abundant supply of knowledgeable and culturally competent providers through training and recruitment partnerships that will help develop a health professional workforce that represents and takes excellent care of the population of the US Pacific. We provide accredited, high-quality continuing education offerings and professional support to meet the needs of healthcare professionals, especially those practicing in underserved areas. These programs are designed to enhance clinical skills and help maintain professional certifications.
The Hawai‘i/Pacific Basin AHEC makes three promises:
AHEC strives to provide recruitment, placement, and retention activities to address community, state, and regional health workforce needs, performing health and health workforce needs assessments and improving distance learning and telehealth utilization. There are four primary activity areas:
Our GOAL is to facilitate access to an abundant supply of knowledgeable and culturally competent providers through training and recruitment partnerships that will improve the diversity, distribution, and quality of the health professions workforce. We provide accredited, high-quality continuing education offerings and professional support to meet the needs of healthcare professionals, especially those practicing in underserved areas. These programs are designed to enhance clinical skills and help maintain professional certifications.
The Hawai‘i/Pacific Basin AHEC makes three promises:
AHEC Program Office
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine
651 Ilalo, Medical Education Building, Room 224
Honolulu, HI 96813-5525
Phone: (808) 692-1060
Fax: (808) 692-1258
Email: ahec@hawaii.edu
Address: 86-260 Farrington Hwy, Waianae, HI 96792
Phone: (808) 697-3217
Email: Leah Asano, Director, lasano@wcchc.com
Address: 41-1347 Kalanianaole Hwy, Waimanalo, HI 96795
Phone: (808) 259-7948
Email: Christie Carvalho, Director, CCarvalho@waimanalohealth.org
The Waimānalo Health Center Board, made up of 15 community members, provides oversight for all AHEC program activities and is working to expand participation to include both health care professionals and community stakeholders. Christie Carvalho serves as the Acting AHEC Director.
The Waimānalo AHEC currently delivers clinical and didactic training each year for medical students, medical residents, and advanced practice nursing students. In addition, the program supports a culturally grounded, school-based mentoring and health promotion initiative at Waimānalo Elementary and Intermediate School. The Kū I Ka Māna (KIKM) program—meaning “to stand in reflection of those who feed me”—provides in-school mentoring, tutoring, health education, and career-development opportunities for students.
With continued AHEC funding, the Waimānalo AHEC plans to implement new interdisciplinary, community-based training experiences in Waimānalo and to incorporate both interdisciplinary and clinical trainees as integral contributors to the Kū I Ka Māna Native Hawaiian mentorship and education program.
Huli Au Ola Area Health Education Center
P.O. Box 399, Kaunakakai, HI 96748
Phone: (808) 553-3623
Fax: (808) 553-8277
Email: Rosie Davis, Executive Director, mauiahecrd@gmail.com
The turning point of life…
Maui County AHEC (Huli Au Ola) is in year 3 of existence with a five member board composed of three health workers and two community members that serves the three-island County of Maui: Maui, Molokai and Lanai (all HPSAs or MUAs). The AHEC Center is located on the rural, largely Native Hawaiian island of Molokai. Rosie Davis, a certified leadership trainer, is the center director. Accomplishments to date include permanently expanding the nursing class enrollment at Maui Community College by 20 students a year, creating a two week summer health careers program for 18 students from Maui county, and creating an in-school weekly health education program for K-12 students.
The current health careers program was created through collaboration with the Native Hawaiian Healthcare system to provide a 2 week residential program for 18 students from Molokai and Hana (on Maui). Topics covered include: Native healing practices, fish pond clean up, life guard training, Nature Conservancy preserve visit, Family Science Night activities, options in health careers, traditional music and dance, team building and study skills. Molokai offers clinical training to students when requested, but because of its rural location, it is not a popular location. Continued grant funding will be used to begin to offer regular clinical rotations for students from UH health professions schools, and expand health careers pipeline activities to additional students to include a paid summer internship program. In addition, the Hui Au Ola AHEC will continue in-school health education activities
Maui County AHEC Summer Health Institute
Huli Au Ola AHEC’s ‘Summer Health Leadership Institute’ is an amazing annual adventure found only on Molokai! Summer Health Institute students apply creativity and problem solving to robotics project. Robotic technologies are increasingly being used in surgical and health related settings.
Hawaii Island AHEC – Hilo Medical Center Foundation
140 Rainbow Dr, Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808)932-3636
Fax: (808)974-4746
Email: Lisa Rantz, Executive Director, lrantz@hhsc.org
Na Lei Wili Area Health Education Center
4442 Hardy St, Room 205, Lihue, HI 96766
Phone: (808)246-8986
Email: Fran Becker, Executive Director, beckerfran@gmail.com
Intertwining lei…
The Na Lei Wili AHEC opened in 1997 to serve both Kauai, a medically underserved population, and three community health centers on Oahu. The Na Lei Wili AHEC has a 9 member managing board of consumers and healthcare providers. Fran Becker, the Na Lei Wili AHEC Director, is a community services worker and pastor with 1 year of AHEC experience. In 2002, Na Lei Wili AHEC developed successful health careers program, “Grow Our Own Healers” an innovative, proactive approach to addressing the health workforce shortage through long term health career exploration, tiered (also called near-peer) mentoring, community health education, and community service. The program includes a two-week Summer Health Academy (SHA) program for 25 middle school students to learn about health careers. Students have demonstrated up to a 24% increase in knowledge of health careers as a result of this program.Na Le Wili also supports the Health Occupation for Teens (HOT) program for students at Waimea High school. These students participate in weekly career exploration activities, modeled after the Health Occupations Students of America program, attend community health fairs, gain volunteer experiences at the local hospital and assist with and mentor the SHA students. In addition, Na Lei Wili AHEC has been supporting training at rural and underserved sites for medical students since 1997 and will work to expand this training as well as introduce caregiver training to help increase the state’s capacity to care for the aging population. Na Lei Wili AHEC’s primary focus under Model AHEC funding will be health careers recruitment and training.
University of Hawaii Maui College AHEC
310 Kaahumanu Avenue, Kahului, HI 96793
Email: Aaron Joyo, Center Co-Director, joyo@hawaii.edu
Palau AHEC
Palau Community College, Dadait Building
PO Box 8007, Korror, Republic of Palau 96940
Phone: (680)488-4900
Fax: Dial 011 and (680) 488-1211
Email: Greg Dever, MD, Executive Director, gregd@pihoa.org
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) AHEC
P.O. Box 501250, Saipan, MP 96950
Phone: (670) 237-6802 / 6810
Email:
Les Ogumoro-Uludong, Center Director, les.ogumoro@marianas.edu
Pamela Ann B. Ada, Center Administrative Manager, ahec@marianas.edu
Yap, Federated States of Micronesia AHEC
PO Box 1035, Colonia, Yap FSM 96943
Phone: (691)350-2115
Email: Pius You, Executive Director, pyou@fsmhealth.fm
Guam AHEC, Guam Regional Medical City
133 Route 3, Dededo, GU 96929
Phone Office: (671) 645-5500 ext. 5542
Email: Jennifer Cruz – Center Director, jennifer.cruz@grmc.gu