40North Carolina AHEC
2012 Progress Report
creating a better state of health
Letter from the Director
I am pleased to offer this 2012 Progress Report for the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program.
The report summarizes our accomplishments over the past year in addressing the health workforce needs of the state.
Though the numbers are impressive, it is the individual stories behind the numbers that capture the essence of AHEC.
It is about dedicated preceptors spending time with young learners; experts in various fields willing to share their
knowledge through our continuing education programs; talented quality improvement staff spending hours in a rural
safety net practice to make sure that they have the best tools available in providing care for their patients; and health
professionals mentoring young people to assure that we have a new generation of bright and dedicated nurses,
dentists, pharmacists, doctors, physical therapists, and numerous other health professionals.
This year we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of AHEC in North Carolina. Throughout 2012 we will publish a series of
special reports and hold events to commemorate the founding of our program, the accomplishments over the years,
and our plans for the future. AHEC has a rich history and is indebted to a number of visionary leaders who designed
and set the course for this program in the 1970s. At the same time, we are excited about the opportunities ahead of
us to improve access to health care for the people of this state, to enhance workforce diversity, and to advance the
quality of care delivered to patients and families.
In order to focus our work in the years ahead we are close to completing work on a new strategic plan for NC
AHEC. During this process, we have engaged literally hundreds of our own faculty and staff, key partners and other
constituents of our programs, and key health leaders from across the state in both assessing our strengths and looking
at the opportunities we have before us. Throughout this process we have stayed focused on our mission of preparing
a health workforce to serve the communities of the state in the coming years, and doing this in partnership with our
academic and community colleagues. You will be hearing more about the outcomes of this in the months ahead, but
some clear trends have emerged. Our overarching goal will be to give students, residents and health professionals
the experiences and tools they need to thrive in a 21st century health care system. Within that context we will place
greater emphasis on preparing providers to work in interprofessional teams. We will continue to innovate in the way
we deliver educational experiences to students and health professionals through both greater use of technology
(high tech) and a focus on high quality teaching sites at the community level (high touch). Finally, our work to create
a more diverse workforce to serve the increasingly diverse population of North Carolina will remain a priority.
It is an exciting time for health care in general and for the AHEC Program in particular. We hope you can join us in
celebrating our 40th anniversary, and in working with us to assure that we continue to meet our mission to prepare
health professionals for service to the communities of North Carolina.
Thomas J. Bacon, DrPH
Director, NC AHEC Program
NC AHEC Directors (Left to Right): John Perry, MD (Wake); Rebecca W. Knight, MSN, MBA (Greensboro); Tom Bacon, DrPH (Program Office);
Deborah J. Teasley, PhD, FACHE (Southern Regional); Stephen E. Willis, MD (Eastern); Mary N. Hall, MD (Charlotte); Teck Penland, PhD (Mountain);
Mark Darrow, MD, FACP (South East); Michael P. Lischke, EdD, MPH (Northwest); Debby P. Futrell, PharmD (Area L); and Marvin S. Swartz, MD (Duke).
creating a better state of health
AHEC-based residency programs prepare physicians (particularly in primary care) to serve
the communities of North Carolina. In 2011, 115 physicians (the majority in family medicine)
graduated from an AHEC residency, and 63% remained in North Carolina to practice.
Physicians graduating from AHEC residencies are more likely to:
• remain in North Carolina to practice.
• practice in a rural area.
• practice in a designated shortage area.
AHEC graduates create jobs:
Primary Care Residency Training
www.ncahec.net
Student Residents at Southern Regional AHEC - Front Row (Left to Right): Mitul Butala, Ashany Sriskandarajah, Nella Gasteazoro-McCraw, Rishita
Patel, Rishita Patel. Back Row: Stephanie Reese, Raja Virk, Jonathan McCraw, and Philippe Bulauitan.
1,2. Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies, February 2009
Support for Practicing Health Professionals
A wide variety of continuing education (CE) programs
and technical assistance services are offered by AHEC to
practicing health professionals and agencies in the state.
AHEC uses the latest information technology to improve
access to CE programs and distance degree programs
through teleconferencing, distance learning, and Web-based
programming. By using innovations in technology
and training providers to use new systems, AHEC improves
the quality of care available to patients.
Videoconferencing technology extends the AHEC
network’s reach for distance education and telemedicine
initiatives to more than 50 public and private sites
throughout the state.
In addition to face-to-face CE programs, NC AHEC offers
online training through AHEConnect (www.aheconnect.com).
This resource offers the ability to create and host online courses.
AHEC also offers MyAHEC (my.ncahec.net), a powerful online
tool providing personalized services and resources to the state’s
health care professionals including a searchable CE events
calendar and tools to track your attendance and credits.
AHEConnect Facts
78,399 Registrations
71% Completion Rate
154,561 Contact Hours Awarded
244 Courses Produced
186 Online Courses Currently Available
Professional Attendance
at AHEC CE Programs
2010-2011
Allied Health.............................................5,936
Dentistry.....................................................5,360
Medicine...............................................109,701
Mental Health.........................................26,415
Nursing.....................................................22,949
Pharmacy.................................................3,802
Public Health............................................5,114
Interdisciplinary.......................................20,557
Total.......................................................199,834
creating a better state of health
Practice-Based Quality Improvement
Over the past five years, in partnership with Community Care of North Carolina and multiple
other agencies, NC AHEC has developed a model for improving care in primary care practices
by providing hands-on, ground level quality improvement consulting and support for practices
throughout the state. In 2005, North Carolina was chosen to pilot the Improving Performance
In Practice (IPIP) project. NC IPIP is now implemented through a statewide network of quality
improvement consultants (QICs) employed at each of NC AHEC’s nine regional centers.
Based on its success in working with primary care practices in quality improvement through IPIP and
other statewide efforts, NC AHEC was awarded a $13.5 million four-year grant from the Office of the
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) in early 2010. This grant has enabled
the development of a Regional Extension Center (REC) for North Carolina designed to support
primary care practices in selecting and implementing an electronic health record (EHR) for their
practices.
As a result of the federal grant, NC AHEC has been able to rapidly expand its capacity to support
primary care practices in EHR selection and adoption, in practice redesign, and in using clinical and
administrative data to improve the delivery of care as well as clinical outcomes for patients and
families. AHECs across the state have added more than 30 additional professional staff.
As of spring 2012, the NC AHEC system is serving more than 1,000 practices and more than 3,800
primary care providers. These practices and providers are heavily focused in rural areas and among
safety-net organizations such as federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
Mark Beamer, MD, Vanessa Beamer, RN, and a medical student at Pungo Family Medicine. Pungo is a small rural practice located in Belhaven, NC.
A 16-year partner in the NC AHEC ORPCE (Office of Regional Primary Care Education), Pungo has piloted AHEC practice-based support services
since 2007. Beamer precepts students from East Carolina University and Duke University, and Eastern AHEC provides student housing in Belhaven.
creating a better state of health
www.ncahec.net
Health Science Student Support
Health science students studying allied health, dentistry, medicine, nursing, public health, and
pharmacy at many North Carolina colleges and universities receive part of their training under
AHEC auspices in community hospitals, physicians’ offices, rural health centers, public health
departments, mental health centers, and other health-related settings.
Each of the nine regional AHECs facilitates quality community-based health science education
at more than 1,300 community sites. In 2010-2011, health science students completed 10,558
student months of training through AHEC-supported
community-based rotations.
AHEC staff assist in identifying high quality
community teaching sites, provide housing in 54
counties in approximately 70 locations across
the state, and provide library services and other
suppport to students while they are on rotation.
AHEC-Based Student Rotations
2010-2011 (in student months)
Allied Health............................................. 1,259
Dentistry........................................................ 170
Medicine................................................... 3,133
Nursing....................................................... 3,506
Pharmacy................................................. 1,134
Physician Assistant.................................... 1,094
Public Health............................................... 262
Locations of NC AHEC Total......................................................... 10,558
Student Training Sites
www.ncahec.net
The AHEC Information and Library System provides equal access, services, and education
to the state’s health workforce through online access to all resources, resource delivery,
reference services, orientation, training, educational and library support, and access to
current technology.
In 2010-2011, AHEC librarians around the state offered 874 education and orientation
sessions to 7,209 attendees.
A core function of the system is the AHEC Digital Library (ADL). The ADL provides community-based,
customer-driven access to authoritative and current health information. The ADL
currently provides access to e-journals, e-books, and other key
evidence-based resources for more than 69,638 practicing health
professionals and students. Many of these health providers have
no affiliation with university medical centers and would find
access to these state-of-the-art resources cost prohibitive if they were not available through
affordable ADL memberships.
ADL materials are used by a wide variety of health professionals including AHEC faculty and
staff, preceptors overseeing students on community-based rotations, and health providers
enrolled in special programs such as the School Mental Health Training Series or the Nursing
Management Institute.
In 2010-2011 the ADL provided access to several hundred core titles for exclusive use by
AHEC Digital Library members and included 188,533 logins by members and more than
400,000 by guests.
Information and Library System
Health Careers and Workforce Diversity
Workforce data indicate that in all health professions, minority populations continue to be
underrepresented relative to the overall population in North Carolina. Primary health care
access can be improved through better
diversity in the health care workforce. Current
AHEC initiatives are designed to enhance
the cultural competency and sensitivity of
all health care providers and to improve the
recruitment and retention of underrepresented
students choosing careers in health care.
Over the past five years, more than 150,000
students have participated in AHEC Health
Careers and Workforce Diversity activities,
including nearly 26,000 this past year.
Activities included shadowing and mentoring
experiences, summer experiential activities,
health career fairs and forums, and cultural
sensitivity training.
Since 1990, AHEC has produced North
Carolina Health Careers, a popular and award-winning resource which features information on
careers and educational opportunities in the health care field. NC Health Careers is accessible
online at www.nchealthcareers.com.
Health Career Education - Reaching Out to Excellent Students (H.E.R.O.E.S.) program sponsored by Charlotte AHEC.
creating a better state of health
The mission of the North Carolina AHEC Program is to meet the state’s health and health workforce needs
by providing educational programs in partnership with academic institutions, health care agencies, and
other organizations committed to improving the health of the people of North Carolina.
AHEC educational programs and information services are targeted toward:
• Improving the distribution and retention of health care providers, with a special emphasis on primary
care and prevention.
• Improving the diversity and cultural competence of the health care workforce in all health
disciplines.
• Enhancing the quality of care and improving health care outcomes.
• Addressing the health care needs of underserved communities and populations.
The NC AHEC Health Careers Pipeline
– providing support to individuals in all
stages of professional growth.
www.ncahec.net
The North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Building on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2011, the former
Health Affairs Bookstore Building was renamed the NC AHEC Building. In addition to housing the NC AHEC Program Office, it is also home to the
UNC School of Medicine Human Resources, Finance, and Medical Education Offices and the University Employee Occupational Health Clinic.
Charlotte AHEC
Mary N. Hall, MD
Director
P.O. Box 32861
5039 Airport Center Parkway, Bldg. K
Charlotte, NC 28232
Tel. 704.512.6523 Fax. 704.512.6568
http://www.charlotteahec.org
North Carolina Area Health Education Centers
Greensboro AHEC
Rebecca W. Knight, MSN, MBA
Executive Director
Moses Cone Health System
1200 North Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401-1020
Tel. 336.832.8025 Fax. 336.832.2851
http://www.gahec.org
Mountain AHEC
Jeffery Heck, MD
President & CEO*
501 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-4686
Tel. 828.257.4400 Fax. 828.258.2097
http://www.mahec.net
*Teck Penland, PhD, retired in February 2012
Northwest AHEC
Michael P. Lischke, EdD, MPH
Director
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
475 Deacon Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
Mailing Address: Medical Center Blvd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1060
Tel. 336.713.7700 Fax. 336.713.7701
http://northwestahec.wfubmc.edu
Southern Regional AHEC
Deborah J. Teasley, PhD, FACHE
President & CEO
1601 Owen Drive
Fayetteville, NC 28304
Tel. 910.323.1152 Fax. 910.323.4007
http://www.southernregionalahec.org
Duke AHEC Program
Marvin S. Swartz, MD
Director
Duke University Medical Center
Department of Psychiatry, Box 3173
Durham, NC 27710
Tel. 919.684.8676 Fax. 919.681.7504
http://dukeahec.mc.duke.edu
NC AHEC Program
Thomas J. Bacon, DrPH
Director
145 N. Medical Drive, CB 7165
NC AHEC Building
The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7165
Tel. 919.966.2461 Fax. 919.966.5830
http://www.ncahec.net
ncahec@med.unc.edu
Medical Air
Operations
Medical Air Operations
provides air service to
faculty and staff who
work with AHEC to deliver
clinical and educational
services throughout the
state. In 2010-2011, 1,903
passengers logged more than 490,000 miles on Medical Air in
order to reach every corner of the state with specialty clinics,
educational programs, and other services designed to improve
access to quality health care for all North Carolinians.
Eastern AHEC
Stephen E. Willis, MD
Executive Director
P.O. Box 7224
2000 Venture Tower Drive
Greenville, NC 27835-7224
Tel. 252.744.8214 Fax. 252.744.8596
http://eahec.ecu.edu
South East AHEC
Mark Darrow, MD, FACP
President & CEO
P.O. Box 9025, 2511 Delaney Avenue
Wilmington, NC 28402-9025
Tel. 910.343.0161 Fax. 910.762.3521
http://www.seahec.net
Wake AHEC
John Perry, MD
Executive Director
William F. Andrews Center
3024 New Bern Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27610-1255
Tel. 919.350.8228 Fax. 919.350.7976
http://www.wakeahec.org
Area L AHEC
Debby P. Futrell, PharmD, Director
David M. Webb, EdD, President
P.O. Drawer 7368
1631 S. Wesleyan Boulevard
Rocky Mount, NC 27804-0368
Tel. 252.972.6958 Fax. 252.972.0419
http://www.arealahec.org
www.ncahec.net
THE NORTH CAROLINA AHEC PROGRAM
145 N. Medical Drive, CB 7165
NC AHEC Building
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7165
919.966.2461
http://www.ncahec.net
email: ncahec@med.unc.edu
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North Carolina
AHEC
creating a better state of health
1972 - 2012 40th Anniversary