Area Health Education Center Network
In 1985, the University of Washington assumed sponsorship of the AHEC program to help alleviate shortages of health care personnel in medically underserved rural and urban areas of the Northwest and Alaska. The regional AHEC network comprises six centers, four of which are statewide. Their administrative headquarters are in Laramie for Wyoming AHEC, Anchorage for Alaska Center for Rural Health, Bozeman for Montana AHEC, and Boise for Idaho AHEC. Washington, geographically divided by the Cascade Mountains, has centers serving the eastern area from Spokane for Eastern Washington AHEC and the western area from Seattle for Western Washington AHEC. The centers are among some 150 AHECs across the nation that are part of a national network to address emerging health care concerns.
Programs for Healthy Communities (PHC)
Based at the UW School of Medicine and at the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), PHC has worked with over 60 towns in the WWAMI states since 1989 to strengthen health care delivery systems and improve the practice environment. Assistance includes assessment of community health care delivery needs and implementation of recommendations within community settings. More information is available at the PHC Web site.
WWAMI Center for Health Workforce Studies
Established in 1998 as part of the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine, the Center for Health Workforce Studies brings together researchers from medicine, nursing, dentistry, public health, the allied health professions, pharmacy, and social work to perform applied research on the distribution, supply, and requirement of health care providers, with emphasis on state workforce issues in underserved urban and rural areas in the WWAMI region. Visit the Center for Health Workforce Studies site for additional information. WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Established in 1988 and based in the UWSOM Department of Family Medicine and working closely with other departments, schools, WA State Department of Health, and the AHECs, the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center is engaged in a variety of inquiries, with a focus on rural and underserved health care issues. It is one of five federally-funded policy-oriented rural health research centers. Visit the RHRC Web site for more information.